A Secret No More
by BenRG
Summary: The Senshi have kept their true identities secret for a long time, but no secret is forever.  My first Sailor Moon story, R&R please
1. Prologue & Serena Thompson - Sailor Moon

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Sailor Moon

A Secret No More – By BenRG

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Legal Disclaimer

Sailor Moon, and all the characters and events therein were created by Naoko Takeuchi. The property is owned by several companies, none of whom have any connection to me. I don't own anything much. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the worldwide web. Any attempt to sue me will merely lead to a clear definition of the word 'penniless.'

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Author's Notes

OK – This is going to get Kaz mad at me, but I know what I want. 

I have read a lot of Sailor Moon fanfics and suddenly this idea jumped into my head. Work with me here, as I don't know much about the story's continuity or the various characters, I'm playing it by ear based on other authors' works. I'll also be adding some of my own concepts that will violate what I know is established continuity. Don't worry, I know the details are wrong, but I need to add my own 'feel' to the story.

Richard Sharpe, aka 'Orion' is my own creation.

I am using the names 'Alex' for Haruka and 'Heather' for Hotaru because I like them better. Mark Berger originally used these names for these characters in his stories 'The Wedding' and 'Married Life.'

I'm using the dub names because I'm not sure of the 'real' names, and I don't know enough Japanese names to name all the secondary characters. Nonetheless, with the exception of Glen, Richard and Mina, all the main characters are ethnic Japanese living in Tokyo.

**__**

New Look

The Senshi fukus are pretty good for a 'magical girl' show, but realistically do you think that the bodyguards of the Moon Princess would be running around in little mini-dresses with big bows on the front? No, I didn't think so, so I have taken the liberty of re-designing the girls' uniforms. Keep this in mind when reading battle sequences. 

The underlying feel is of an insect's exoskeleton in form-fitting kevlar. Think of the armour used by human soldiers in 'Unreal Tournament.' The gloves (elbow length) and boots (knee length) are especially well armoured, as are the shoulders, hips, knees and elbows. The power brooches move to the front of the left hip and act as a clasp for the only kawaii touch I permit, a silk/chiffon sash that loops around the waist and over both shoulders. The astrological symbol for the Senshi's home planet is picked out on the left breast of the sash in slightly darker thread. The only uncovered area is the throat and the top of the chest. The Senshi store wands and other special apparatus in recessed pouches on the outside of the gloves and the hip pads.

The royal tiaras that every Senshi wears remain unchanged.

The uniforms follow a colour theme. The colours are: Sailor Moon – white (royal blue sash); Sailor Mercury – cyan (grey sash), Sailor Venus – orange (pink sash), Sailor Mars – red (black sash), Sailor Jupiter – leaf green (yellow sash), Sailor Saturn – silver-grey (purple sash), Sailor Uranus – sky blue (white sash), Sailor Neptune – turquoise (navy blue sash), Sailor Pluto – charcoal grey (brown sash), Sailor Chibi-Moon – violet (rose sash).

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New Weapon

This is an idea that I have had. This weapon is a basic attack, which all the girls will have learnt to use immediately upon discovering their power: **[Planet] Soul Blade**. The Soul Blade resembles a Japanese Katana only it has an energy blade that glows with the same colour as the primary colour of their uniform. The soul blade is a manifestation of their power in a concentrated form and can cut through almost any non-magical substance with a minimum of effort. The Soul Blade has an interesting capability; it can separate a Youma from its' host, but only if used carefully. If the Senshi isn't careful, the blade could kill Youma and host at the same moment. The blades of the swords vanish when not in use. When not using them, the Senshi carry the hilts of their Soul blades in a recessed bracket on their right hips.

Because of this new attack, you will have to accept that even the clumsiest of the Senshi (Serena and Mina) suddenly can sword-fight like pros (think Obi-Wan in 'The Phantom Menace).

**__**

Revised Timeline

A minor problem I have with the established 'canon' timeline is the fact that the Silver Millennium ended 1,000 years ago, or in the 11th Century AD. This is when the Crusades were taking place in Europe and the Aztec empire was rising to its' height. I think history would have recalled the Dark Moon advent if it had taken place at that time.

As Earth was ruled from Atlantis during the Silver Millennium, I have decided to use the Babylonian astrological calendar. The Silver Millennium was the Age of Leo, which ended 25,000 years ago (approximately the same time as the fall of Atlantis and the Great Flood survived by Noah in his Ark, according to some pop-archaeologists). We are currently living in the Chaos Millennium, the Age of Capricorn, which has lasted 25,000 years. We will shortly be entering the Crystal Millennium, the Age of Aquarius. Dates are approximate as the Babylonians had 360-day years and 28-day months.

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Censor: PG-13 for safety's sake

Ages, The Senshi: Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are all 16; Raye is 19; Heather is 16; Alex and Michelle are 22; Trista is at least 25,000 years old, but doesn't look a day over 25

Ages, The Planetary Knights: Darien is 21; Glen is 18; Greg is 16; Ken is 16; Richard is 18; Chad is 20

Text in _Italics_ are thoughts;

Text in Triangular Brackets is psychic communication;

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Prologue – Reminiscences of a Queen

"'No secret is forever.' That is a profound truth, and one that I am reminded of time and time again as the decades pass.

"It is odd to look back across the centuries and remember those first years. I was still a child, both in body and in soul, filled with a child's simple view of the world and the creatures living in it. However, I was also a warrior, a fighter for justice against evils that were not only from beyond this world, but also from beyond this _universe_.

"As much as there was a part of me that desperately wanted to transform in the middle of a boring class and accept the plaudits and adulation of the other girls, I knew that I could not do that. I would be risking my own safety, that of my family and friends, and that of everyone to whom I had revealed my other identity. Too many of the agents of the Negaverse were walking the Earth. If they found out who Sailor Moon truly was, no one I knew would be safe. They would all be weapons to use against me.

"So I kept my peace, deliberately exaggerating my early-teen clumsiness to contrast even more dramatically with the agile and strong Sailor Moon. I even started deliberately over-reacting to minor frustrations and hurt to make me seem a cry-baby, one unlikely to be the fearless magical champion of the Moon.

"However, you cannot kill the truth, only bury it deep. And nothing _ever_ stays buried forever. My friends and I were all lucky to have intelligent and perceptive friends and relations. In the end, it was only a matter of time..."

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Queen Serenity II

'The Once and Future War'

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Chapter 1 – Serena Thompson – Sailor Moon

"You are the one for me, Serenity," Prince Endymion of Earth said as he leaned forward. Serena could almost feel his lips on hers. "I have never felt like this about anyone before, and I never will about anyone else. I love you."

"I love you too, Endymion," Princess Serenity of the Moon said in a small, emotion-choked voice. _I love you, Darien_, Serena's mind added. The Prince of Earth leaned down, pressed his naked body to Serenity's, and began to stroke her gently. The electrifying contact caught them both in an escalating spiral of joy…

*BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!*

"WHAT?" 16-year old Serena Thompson awoke so suddenly that she jumped into a sitting position, disturbing her feline guardian, Luna. When she realised who and where she was, she slapped the 'snooze' button on her alarm clock and slumped back onto her pillows. She folded her arms and twisted her pretty face in a disgusted scowl. "_Damn _it," Serena hissed. "Why, gods? Why do I always _have_ to wake up when I get to the good bit?"

"That isn't fitting language for a Princess," Luna said in a disapproving tone of voice, although Serena could see good-natured humour in the golden eyes of her guardian. "As for why you always wake up before you reach the good bit… Well, if you want time to enjoy _all_ of your dreams, maybe you should try to get to bed earlier than 1AM rather than spending all night 'chatting' with Aramina and Amy over the Internet."

Serena stuck her tongue out at her oldest friend and was about to think of a suitably biting retort when her mother called from downstairs. "Breakfast, Serena! Come on, love, you'll be late for school."

"And we don't want that, do we?" Serena said to herself sarcastically with a mock idiotic smile. 

Luna chuckled like a parent watching the antics of a wayward but beloved child. Serena wasn't exactly the best student in history. Oh, she had improved a lot, the nightmarish D- and the occasional 'F' grades had vanished from her report cards over the last few years (mostly thanks to Amy and Greg). Her current steady C+ to B+ grades were not _too _bad (indeed, since Darien started helping her, she had even managed the occasional A- in History, her favourite subject). However, she still lagged behind most of her class in several subjects. She just wasn't the studious type. Considering her destiny, Luna found that unfortunate.

Serena had stripped off her pyjamas and was now shrugging into her school uniform, which (for some reason) was a sailor's fuku. Oh, it looked somewhat cute on a pre-teen, Serena admitted to herself, but she wasn't impressed any more. She would prefer something with a longer skirt, for instance. She was getting a little _too_ leggy for the micro-miniskirt that was part of the uniform.

Serena stopped off in the bathroom to wash her face. Her face had got a little longer in the last few years, but little else had changed. Her eyes were still a vibrant blue (her inheritance from her American maternal grandfather). However, she noted that she would have to dye her hair again soon. Her natural black hair coloration was now clearly visible at the roots. With a sigh, she pulled her hair up into her preferred ondango styling and went downstairs. She rarely wore makeup for school. She didn't think it was worth the effort.

"Hey, Sis," Sammy said, briefly stopping his inhalation of his breakfast cereal to acknowledge his older sister. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, if you look forward to dying of boredom in school, which I don't," Serena said, repeating her usual complaint about school. It was odd how it had become a habit, although she didn't _really_ hate it anymore. "Good morning, Mama, Papa."

Kenneth Thompson looked up from his morning _Nippon News_ and gave his oldest child a bare nod of acknowledgement before returning to his consideration of the financial pages. Irene, his wife, was more expressive. "Good morning, darling," she said, kissing her daughter on the cheek. "Are you ready? Today is the day of the big English test you've been studying so hard for isn't it?"

Serena's jaw dropped open in a very comical fashion. It was indeed the day of the English Language test. Serena had to master the language, as it was the _lingua franca_ of the industrialised world. And no, she hadn't done a bit of studying since learning of the test last week, apart from one short cramming session with Heather's boyfriend, Richard (who spoke it like a native… because he _was _a native). All the other alleged 'study sessions' were actually dates with Darien, Senshi training or fighting for her life against assorted NegaGoons. "Um… yes, I'm ready," Serena managed to say in a very faint voice.

***

It was lunchtime at Juubian High School, Tokyo. Serena was out in the yard, doing something alien to her. She was studying.

"Mercury's Sandals! This is the first time I've _ever _seen you study so hard!" Amy Anderson was extremely impressed at the pile of books surrounding Serena on the picnic table. Her usually rather air-headed friend was nearly invisible behind the pile of books on English grammar, pronunciation and language. "You know, I'm starting to think that we have more in common than fighting monsters!"

Serena, her face hidden behind a book, gave her friend a slightly ironic smile. "Well, we've got a test today," she said. "I've got to be ready for that!"

"Didn't you study at home over the last week?" Amy asked innocently. _Stupid question, I know, but…_

"Well, well, it's the cry-baby and the swat!" announced a nauseatingly familiar voice. "And the cry-baby has become another swat too!"

Amy twisted around and looked at Cassidy Wilkes, the most popular girl in the school and the foulest bully. She was even worse than Serena's previous nemesis, Leanne, who had dropped out after getting pregnant at just 15 years old. That matter had killed Serena's opposition to Darien's insistence that they wait until they were married before having intimate relations. You see Leanne _always _used protection, but there was no such thing as 100% certainty in this world. "What's the matter, Cassidy?" Amy asked in a sneering tone of voice. "Worried about your score?"

"Hardly," Cassidy yawned. "However, it looks like Ondango Atama _is_ worried."

Serena scowled. She didn't know how Cassidy had learnt the nickname that Darien had given her, and she didn't care. The other girl just drove her to distraction. "Maybe I want to do well," Serena announced. "Maybe I want my life to be more than hanging on the arm of a rich husband and _whoring_ myself to keep body and soul together!"

Cassidy sneered at Serena's comeback. "Ooh! We've got an emancipated woman here, girls," she sneered, making her entourage giggle mindlessly. "Obviously she isn't interested in Mr. Darien 'I own a publishing empire' Shields because of _his_ money."

It took all of Serena's self-control not to use her Moon Tiara attack and allow the horrible girl opposite her make an ash of herself. Having Amy's hand on her knee, holding her in a sitting position helped a lot. She drew in a deep breath. "I am interested in Darien for other reasons than his big _portfolio_, Cassidy," she announced with a wicked smile. Amy giggled at the image _that_ put in her brain.

Cassidy snatched the book out of Serena's hand and threw it away. Then, with an idle shove, she pushed the rest off the table. Only Serena's reflexes stopped the books from crushing her toes. "Wave your boyfriend around while you can, cry-baby," Cassidy hissed. "He'll see sense soon enough, and you will be what you deserve to be: Ignored and alone."

Serena could take most taunts, but ones about her relationship with Darien, who she loved, had loved thousands of years ago, and would always love were something she would _not_ endure. "You close your mouth, harlot!" she snapped. "Your jealousy is _so_ transparent!"

"Jealous? Of _you_?" Cassidy tilted back her head and began to laugh uproariously. "Oh that is just precious." She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled patronisingly at Serena. "I could have any man I want, dear, including your precious Darien. Indeed, I may already have!"

Serena shook off Amy's hand and was suddenly on her feet. She was going to tear Cassidy's head off and damn the consequences. Twenty years in jail would pass in a moment so long as she could silence that nagging voice. "That's it!" she shouted.

"Come on," Cassidy said, raising her hands in a Judo offensive stance. "I'll make that face of yours even uglier!" There was a sudden blur of motion and Cassidy was on her back, staring up at Lita Harrod with a disbelieving expression. 

The tall brown-haired girl was smiling down at Cassidy in a way that the bully didn't like at all. "Leave under your own power or on a stretcher," Lita said in a deadly, level tone of voice.

Cassidy knew about Lita's reputation as a fighter. She didn't need to consider the offer for a moment. She fled. "That's right!" Aramina Love shouted at the retreating bullies, suddenly emerging from the crowd who had been watching the confrontation. "Run and don't come back!" The blonde-haired European girl turned back to her three friends. "I was with you guys all the way, you know."

Serena felt the battle adrenaline running out of her system and smiled at her best friend in a shaky fashion. "I know you were, Mina," she said quietly. She had been surprised and appalled at how close she had coming to losing control. Even without her powers, Serena had learnt enough about fighting over the last two years to kill Cassidy with her bare hands, despite the bully's black belt in Judo. She was going to spend a lot more time at Raye's shrine from now on. She would take up her fiery-tempered friend's offer of lessons in anger management meditation.

The other three girls watched Serena's sudden slumped posture with some worry. "So, you guys ready for the test?" Amy asked, trying to give her friend and sworn liege-lady time to recover her composure. 

"Of course," Lita said with a slight smile. "Ken helped me study," she added, blushing slightly.

"I'm ready, but that doesn't stop me from being nervous," Mina said.

"Mina, you are going steady with an English lord," Lita said in a puzzled tone of voice. "English is your _first_ language! What have _you_ got to be nervous about?"

"Nothing, and that is what makes me nervous," the blonde girl said, dancing fretfully from foot to foot. "How about you, Serena?"

Serena smiled warmly at her best friend. "I'm terrified," she announced calmly, a large droplet of cold sweat forming at the side of her face. "I can't remember a word of the language."

***

"Alright, class, hand your papers in now," Miss Haruna said. The students of Class 13C passed the test papers forwards so that the students in the first row could hand them to the teacher. "All right, that concludes the test," the teacher said. "I'll mark them tonight and you can learn the scores tomorrow." There was a barely suppressed groan of frustration. Waiting overnight for a test score was a nightmare for girls in their last year, especially when this was going to be a critical mark for their final rating on the subject. "I'm sure you can't wait," Miss Haruna said with a slight smile.

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She's a sadist, Serena thought darkly. _First Queen Beryl and now Miss Haruna! How will I survive?_

"Psst! Serena!" Serena turned so she could see Mina, sitting on her right. 'How well do you think you did?' she mouthed. Serena grimaced and raised her hand horizontally, waggling it in a 'so-so' gesture. What was the difference between 'their,' 'there' and 'they're' anyway? She couldn't remember a single bit of that one! 

Looking in the other direction, Serena saw Amy, who looked insufferably smug. _100% and an A++ grade again,_ Serena predicted. She would give a lot to have Amy's supercomputer-like brain. However, the small girl with the short black hair had very little social life except her passionate love affair with Greg, one of the boys in the same year at a nearby boys' school. Serena presumed from this that there was a price to pay for educational achievement.

"Now, girls, if you'll get out your math books," Miss Haruna was saying, "we'll continue the module on Products and Division." Serena rolled her eyes. Math was another one of her non-favourite subjects. Still, she could see the point of this now. Being able to figure one's household bills without the use of a calculator was one of those survival skills of the modern urban jungle.

Then, something curious and terrifying happened. As Miss Haruna began to chalk something on the blackboard, the chalk line suddenly twisted off the slate surface and curled around her wrist like a living thing. The teacher screamed in panic and tried to back away. She couldn't get free and more chalk lines began to tangle around her…

Suddenly, the test papers flew off Miss Haruna's desk and began to swell in size growing huge and suddenly folding into giant origami shapes resembling bipedal monsters. The blackboard twisted off the wall and began to slither forwards on innumerable chalky pseudopods. "Girls! Run!" Miss Haruna screamed.

Almost immediately, the origami-monsters moved to block the door. "_Learn!_" one roared in an inhuman voice.

"_Teach!_" the blackboard-monster roared, seemingly in reply.

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Youma! Serena thought in terror. _Here, in school!_ This had been her nightmare for a long time, to be caught in a fight in public where she had neither the time nor the necessary privacy to transform into Sailor Moon. What made matters worse was the instant hysteria of Serena's classmates. It was difficult to think, let alone decide what to do next when the tsunami of mob psychology was trying to reduce you to a screaming, paralytic wreck.

"_Learn!_" Serena suddenly snapped back to here-and-now as one of the Learn Youma charged her, its' paper claws extended to impale her heart and suck out her life-force. Trained instinct took over. Serena jumped out of her chair as if she were flying and somersaulted over the monster's 'head' to land on the table on its' other side. As it whirled, she unleashed a spinning kick that knocked it over her desk and out of the way.

Over to her left, Lita was defending herself as best as she could. Amy and Mina were using their chairs as makeshift weapons to hold other Learn Youma back. Another was lurching towards Serena, its' strange limbs extended. She launched herself forwards and kicked it in the centre of the chest, knocking it backwards. She used the recoil of the impact to launch her back across the room to kick the other Youma, which had just staggered to its' feet. Serena's twirling double-kick was so powerful that the creature began to spontaneously unfold and shrink as the Youma retreated to the Negaverse to heal. 

However, Miss Haruna and the rest of the students were _not_ part-time superheroes and they were in deep trouble. As Serena looked on, a Learn Youma impaled a girl through the chest. Serena recognised the girl immediately as Molly Baker. Before Serena had met her sister Senshi, Molly had been her best friend in the world. The demon began to tap out Molly's life force greedily; a process that Serena knew could end at best in death and at worse in becoming some kind of mindless zombie slave. Miss Haruna was hanging limply in the Teach Youma's grip, obviously close to death.

Serena's perceptions, heightened by her fear and anger, slowed reality down so she could think about her options. She could defend herself adequately, but without using her special powers, there was no way that she and her three friends could save their classmates from death or worse. Serena realised that, in the end, she had no choice. None at all.

With a strange sensation of relief, she pulled her Disguise Pen out of its' scabbard up her left sleeve. Serena Thompson was about to cease to exist, and she would be simply Sailor Moon, the champion of justice, for the rest of her life. It was a difficult choice, but it also solved many problems. "Moon Crystal Power! _Make up_!" Serena shouted, holding the Disguise Pen over her head.

She just had time to see Amy's jaw drop open and hear Mina shout 'Serena, what are you _doing?_" Then the power of transformation claimed her. Her clothes dissolved into pure lunar elemental energy. In less than a second, the energy reformed into her white body armour with a blue chiffon sash. The transformation energy centred on a point just over Serena's left hip, where her Moon Brooch materialised, the golden crescent moon logo glowing with its' mistress' massive power.

In the chaos, surprisingly few people noticed the sudden appearance of the famous girl superheroine. "Moonlight beam!" Sailor Moon shouted, unleashing a blue-white energy bolt from the gemstone in the centre of her tiara. The Learn Youma closest to her simply exploded into flame as the moon energy consumed it entirely. Then, Sailor Moon grabbed what looked like a black metal rod on her right hip. As it came loose of the bracket mounted on her hip a white energy blade suddenly flashed from one end of the slender rod. Whirling her Moon Soul Blade like a razor-sharp fan, Sailor Moon crashed into the massed Youma, slicing off their limbs and freeing their victims.

The Youma quickly surrounded Sailor Moon and numbers threatened to tell, as the demons were re-forming to create new limbs as quickly as the Priestess of Diana could cut them off. Everyone was staring at the young warrior now, as the Youma were concentrating on her, ignoring the other girls.

"She can't win on her own," Mina said quietly, coming to the same desolate realisation that her best friend had come to seconds before. "Not against those numbers."

Amy nodded numbly and Lita just frowned as she pulled her Disguise Pen from her sleeve. They had their sworn duty as Senshi, and that was all that mattered. It was all that they could _allow_ to matter. Without any comment, Amy raised her Disguise Pen above her head. "Mercury power! _Make up_!"

"Jupiter power!_ Make up_!"

"Venus power! _Make up_!"

Suddenly, there were four warriors in the room. "Shine aqua illusion!" Sailor Mercury shouted. A field of blue-white energy glaze flowed from her fingertips and struck the Youma, sticking to them like some kind of glue. The demons screamed and froze, unable to move for a moment.

Sailor Moon took her cue. "Lunar shine protection, strike out!" The semi-permanent force field around Sailor Moon's body suddenly turned into a field of spikes and razor-sharp edges that radiated in every direction, blowing the Youma aside like the paper sculptures they were. "Nice work Am… Mercury," Sailor Moon said, waving to her friend. "Okay, let's finish this! Venus, Mercury, let's herd them into a corner so Jupiter can do her stuff!"

There were two 'snap-hiss' sounds as Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus activated their Soul Blades. The three young women lay into the paper demons and quickly herded them into a corner. "Now, Sailor Jupiter!" Moon shouted, sweat running down her face.

"Jupiter Thunderbolt Power!" Sailor Jupiter said, unleashing a lightning bolt from both hands. The massive energy discharge heated the paper making up the Youma's assumed bodies to flash point in a millisecond.

There was a massed scream of "_Shocking!_" before the Youma burst into flame and disappeared in a puff of ash.

"Well, that wasn't so much of a chore," Sailor Venus said cheerfully.

"_Teach!_" a monstrous voice screamed and a jet of pressurised chalk-dust struck Sailor Moon in the back, sending her tumbling across the room. Instinctively, Sailor Moon rolled with the kinetic energy of the attack. Ignoring the stinging acid-like pain wherever the dust had touched her flesh, she somersaulted to her feet and span around to face the single surviving Youma.

"Crap! I forgot about the big mama!" Sailor Moon hissed, brushing off the Negaforce-empowered dust as best as she could. 

The Teach Youma was waddling across the room, the helpless Miss Haruna still held in its' horrible coils. Before anyone could react, the creature began to glow. "_Teach!_" it screamed again. This time what looked like words and numbers in glowing purple light began to flash through the room. Horrifically, the energy seemed to siphon down Mercury, Venus and Jupiter's ears. The three Senshi clutched their heads and began to scream in agony as the Youma's attack began to overload their brains with a surge of random information.

"No!" Sailor Moon, not knowing and not caring what danger this might put her in, jumped across the room. "Lunar shine protection!" she shouted. Her force field expanded again, blocking her three sister warriors from the monster's attack. This combined with a wide-range healing energy discharge that restored the other Senshi to full health and made a few of the fallen schoolgirls stir weakly.

The Teach Youma stepped back and seemed to be thinking about its' next move. "An abomination of fear like you has no business in this place of learning and knowledge," Sailor Moon announced, pointing at the Youma, every bit the priestess and princess at this moment. "Release your victim and return to your true place or, in the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"

The Youma growled inarticulately. "_Teach!_" it suddenly bellowed, and fired four more jets of pressurised chalk dust. Long prepared, the four Senshi took the hits on their personal shields without even a twitch.

"Your loss, freakazoid," Sailor Moon shouted, more Serena than Princess Serenity now. "Jupiter, you're our defensive line!"

From behind the other three, Sailor Jupiter muttered a spell that created a charged field in between the Senshi and the Youma. Any further attacks would have to pass this formidable barrier, letting the other three Senshi concentrate their powers on the attack.

The Youma realised that it was in trouble. Every time a Senshi stepped forwards brandishing their Soul Blade, the creature hopped forward and held out the comatose Miss Haruna as a human shield. "This is a stalemate, Sailor Moon," Sailor Venus snapped.

Sailor Moon caught her best friend's eye and nodded once, making a nearly imperceptible gesture with her free left hand. Then she looked at Sailor Mercury and nodded.

"Yiyiyiyiyiyiyiyi!" Sailor Mercury screamed, like the heroine of a certain sword-and-sorcery TV show that she loved so much. Leading with the sky-blue Mercury Soul Blade, which was buzzing like a psychopathic electric shaver, she lunged towards the Teach Youma. As before the monster held out its' victim as a shield.

This time, however, the four Senshi had outmanoeuvred the monster. Sailor Mercury stopped well short, her attack nothing more than a loud and extrovert feint. "Venus love-me chain!" shouted Sailor Venus, loosing an orange-pink energy ribbon from her right index finger. The energy chain lashed around the Youma's rectangular body and yanked it backward off-balance.

"_Teach!_" it howled, in anger and fear this time. In a single blur of inhumanly fast motion, Sailor Mercury lunged forwards and severed the creature's chalky tentacles with one sweep of her sword. The Champion of Truth snatched the schoolteacher and, with the speed of her namesake, zipped away from the Youma before it could recover enough to try to regenerate.

Sailor Moon removed the Moon Tiara from her forehead and wound up like a pro baseball player. "Moon Tiara execution!" she shouted, hurling the decoration forwards. The tiara turned into a whirling blade of blue-white energy which struck the monstrous abomination in the centre of its' rectangular body.

"_Lovely_," it howled and disintegrated into white light, which imploded in upon itself with a puff of moon dust.

The Moon Tiara span back to Sailor Moon, who caught it and nonchalantly placed it back on her forehead.

A long silence fell in the classroom. Sailor Moon strode past the overturned desks and trembling girls to where Sailor Mercury was cradling Miss Haruna's head in her lap. As Sailor Moon knelt beside the Priestess of Hermes, Venus and Jupiter were helping the girls to their feet, making sure no one had been injured or, far worse, had been turned to the Negaforce. "How is Miss Ha… How is the teacher, Sailor Mercury?" the heir to the Moon Kingdom asked her friend.

"She'll be just fine in a minute, Sailor Moon," Sailor Mercury replied, pulling the Caduceus Wand from the armour over her left lower arm. She held it out over the comatose woman and concentrated for a second. "Healing power… activate," she whispered. The wand glowed with power in the same colour as Sailor Mercury's body-hugging armour. 

Within a few seconds, Miss Haruna's eyes flickered open. She stared up at the two armoured women looking down at her in confusion. "M… Miss Anderson? Miss Thompson? What are you wearing…? What… oh… Oh my…!"

Serena felt that all the bitter pain that would doubtless follow this public revelation of their secret identities was worth it to see the look of utter disbelief on the rather prim and proper schoolteacher's face. _I guess you don't get to stay being a schoolteacher if you can't recognise your own pupils_, Sailor Moon thought with an impish smile as Sailor Mercury stowed away her Caduceus Wand. The shorter Senshi was desperately trying not to laugh at the expression on the teacher's face as she climbed shakily to her feet. She saw the other two Senshi and this only added to her culture shock.

"Miss Love? Miss Harrod? Why are you…?" Miss Haruna shook her head. "You… you four are the Sailor Senshi?" A statement, rather than a question, really.

"In the flesh, Miss Haruna," said Sailor Venus, ever the showgirl. The blonde-haired Priestess of Aphrodite curtsied deeply, making the other three laugh.

"Four of them anyway," Sailor Moon added with a totally straight face. "You only get so many of us per classroom. It's a union rule thing."

Molly, who had largely recovered from the attack by one of the Learn Youma walked over and looked Sailor Moon in the eyes. "S… Serena?" she whispered. "Is… is it you?"

"Sometimes," Serena said. She impulsively hugged the other girl. Serena had not been as close to Molly as she once had been, thanks to the revelation of her destiny. Even so, she would have hated to see her hurt. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Molly. Those Youma don't usually stop until you are dead."

Suddenly the room was filled with a Babel of voices. People were shouting excitedly to be heard, asking questions, begging to be allowed to try out a Soul Blade or shyly requesting an autograph. Sailor Moon staggered under the sudden weight of notoriety. From now on, her life would never be the same; she knew that.

"Well, at least I know why you never do your homework," Miss Haruna said. She was laughing and shaking her head in disbelief as this revelation dispelled every mystery about these four girls instantly.

Suddenly, Sailor Venus walked over. "Serena, I've just thought of something," the Champion of Love announced as she walked over, brushing off her classmates idly. "There is no telling how much damage those Youma could have done by even a passing physical contact. I think that you should use the Crescent Moon Wand to heal everyone's MINDS."

"That… that is a great idea, Mina," Serena said thoughtfully. The Crescent Moon Wand's power over the mind was easily abused and Serena was wary about using its' full potential. However, quick-witted Mina had suddenly presented a simple solution to the whole problem. "Everyone, can I have your attention please?" Serena said loudly. The Babel of voices fell silent and everyone was looking at their superheroine schoolmate. Serena quickly outlined a highly credible but fictional side effect of being attacked by a Youma and announced that she would use her Crescent Moon Wand to heal them.

"Venus… Joyful Sleep," Mina said as soon as everyone was looking at them. There was a long silence as she began to glow with orange light. Every non-Senshi fell into an ecstatic trance-sleep; their minds empty save for a deep, joyful sense of fulfilment. The trance was necessary for the Crescent Moon Wand to have its' full effect.

Serena raised the Crescent Moon Wand. "Moon healing glow," she said. The wand began to glow blue-white. "Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are _not_ Sailor Senshi," she announced loudly. "The Senshi teleported in to stop the attack and then teleported out after making sure that everyone was all right. Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita were all in your sight at all times. They saw the Senshi too, and they cannot be the same people as those heroes."

Serena lowered her wand. The four girls transformed back into their school uniforms just as Miss Haruna shook her head and looked around. "Oh! They didn't even wait for us to thank them," she said in disappointment, just as one of the school's security guards finally smashed down the magically sealed door.

Serena looked at Amy, Mina and Lita and mimed wiping the sweat from her brow. That one had been too close for comfort.

***

"We really dodged a bullet this time, Darien," Serena said without looking away from the _Raptor – Call of the Shadows II_ video game. Serena chopped back the throttles of her fighter plane and performed a twirling stall spin to get behind one of the Khanate's blocky fighter ships. She squeezed a trigger, sending a barrage of titanium shards, laser bolts, plasma charges, mini-rockets and air-to-air missiles into the enemy ship. The vessel exploded into flame and Serena ducked underneath it, switching her weapons selection to air-to-ground missiles to blow apart a gun turret on the ground below. Suddenly she was mobbed by about a dozen helicopter gunships, which tore her fighter apart. "Damn it! I was about to get the highest score!" she shouted at the screen, which was showing a crashed fighter and a message shouting 'Too bad! You're dead!' Then the message changed to 'You've got a high score!"

Darien looked on as Serena spelt out her 'tag' – MOONIE, in the second highest score box. "That is pretty good, Ondango Atama," he said affectionately, ruffling her hair. "No one in your school has got that far before. Only Andrew has done better, and that is because he is here almost all the time!"

Serena knocked Darien's hand aside with a mock angry pout. "That's no excuse," she said. Darien laughed and kissed Serena on the cheek. Then he helped her out of her seat (the game cabinet was one of those sit-inside designs) and led her over to 'their' table in the Crown Café, near the counter.

"So what was the bullet that you dodged today, Serena?" he asked discreetly as soon as Andrew had supplied them with their usual order of coffee and chocolate muffins. 

Serena sucked in a deep breath. "Oh, only that the Negaverse attacked our class today. Mina, Amy, Lita and I had to transform in front of the whole class to fight off… gods, maybe thirty-five Youma!" Serena only rarely surprised Darien, and she was pleased to note that she had done so today. Her boyfriend's mouth had made a most satisfying 'O' shape. "Of course, everyone saw us and they all recognised who we really were immediately."

Darien shook his head. "I 'felt' you go into battle this afternoon," he said shakily. "I didn't feel any particular fear or strain, so I knew you were handling it but…" Darien stopped and looked around, surprised at how disappointingly 'normal' everything was. "So where is your police escort and hoard of screaming fans?"

Serena giggled. "Well, we got lucky. Mina and I were able to hypnotise the whole class into forgetting who we really were. But it was close this time, Darien. It was _too_ close, if you see what I mean."

Darien did know. Frankly, it worried him a lot, this whole 'double life as superheroes' thing. The oldest of the 'gang' were Alex, Michelle and _they_ were only 22 years old. The thought of suddenly losing the few precious moments of privacy and normality in their existence must have terrified the four girls, for he knew that it terrified him in his darkest nightmares. It was to their credit that they didn't hesitate to act to defend the innocent, despite what it looked like it would cost them.

From their future daughter's two visits, they knew that in the future, Darien and Serena Shields would be King Endymion and Queen Serenity of the Crystal Kingdom. Their friends, too, would be famous warriors and leaders, public figures in every sense of the world who were instantly recognisable no matter where they were. However, none of them were willing to take on such a public role this early in their lives.

"I'm glad everything worked out," Darien said, playing with one of Serena's long pigtails in an absent-minded fashion. Serena smiled at the easy intimacy of the gesture. They might have decided not to go all the way, but they were already closer than most couples would ever be.

***

"Are you _sure _about this?" Supreme General Diabolus of the Negaverse asked General Inquisitor, his chief intelligence officer.

The pale man nodded. "The correlations are within one one-thousandth of one percent of certainty on the probability scale," Inquisitor replied. "There is no doubt that this girl is, in fact, Sailor Moon."

Diabolus looked at the photo-quality printout thoughtfully. He had fought Sailor Moon and her fellow Senshi more than once and had a healthy respect for their powers and skills. Nonetheless, it was a strange feeling to realise that she was actually this… _little girl_. "Such a pretty girl," he said absently. "It shows that truth of that old phrase that goes: 'never judge a book by its' cover…'"

"Sir?" Inquisitor asked.

Diabolus waved his hand to dismiss his subordinate. This was an incredible chance. Not only could he now strike at Sailor Moon's most vulnerable spot, her family, there was a better-than-evens chance of capturing her and turning her to the Negaforce! All because some low-level agent tried to attack the wrong class at the wrong school at the wrong time! The black-haired warrior grinned viciously. _Now you will pay for all the times you have interfered in our plans Sailor Moon,_ he thought. His fingers stroked the face on the printout. _Or should I say… Serena Thompson…_

The general stood up and keyed on the intercom system. "General Wolfspite report to my office immediately!" he ordered.

***

It was Saturday evening, three days after the incident at school that nearly blew Serena's cover for good. Much to her frustration (she did have other plans for the evening, some of which were even semi-legitimate) Serena found herself on a family outing. Her father, in one of his periodic flashes of guilt about not spending more time with Sammy and her, had decided that they were going to go to a 'Picnic in the Park' concert. _Yuck_, was Serena's internal verdict on the concept. _Not only do I not get to enjoy a sleepover with Raye and the girls at the Hino Shrine, but I also have to endure that awful Western classical music that is just _sooo_ monotonous._

Nonetheless, her father was resolute on the plan, even though Sammy was even less enthusiastic than his older sister was. Appealing to their mother was counter-productive, as she felt that Serena spent too much time out of the house anyway and thought a 'family bonding' evening was a good way to lead into a truly restful weekend.

As the Thompson family Toyota Landcruiser made its' way through Tokyo's crowded streets to Imperial Park, Sammy could see his sister's eyes lose all focus. _She's thinking about Darien Shields again_, the boy predicted. _When does she think about anything else?_ Sammy snorted and turned back to looking at the world passing by the window. He would give a lot to be playing on his Game Cube right now, rather than travelling through the city to a boring cultural evening with a pair of _adults_ and his space-case older sister.

When Sammy thought that Serena was thinking about Darien, he was completely wrong. She wasn't thinking about Darien. Indeed, she wasn't even _thinking_, in the strictest sense of the word.

Hi Raye, Serena projected her mental vocalisation across the city.

A familiar fiery warmth dominated by a deep blood-red glow filled Serena's consciousness as Raye Hino replied to her friend and sister telepath. Serena! Why are you 'pathing me? We're all expecting you at the Shrine tonight! 

I've got to cancel I'm afraid. My Dad has suddenly got an attack of family responsibility and he is dragging Sammy and me to some concert at Imperial Park. 

Aw no! Raye sounded incredulous and angry, one of her most common emotional states. Serena! We've got so much planned! Couldn't you have made an excuse? Pretended to be sick or something? 

Serena smiled. You don't know my Dad, she said. He has a sixth sense for BS, Raye. He would have detected a fake at once and I would have been grounded for weeks, if not months. Serena could feel Raye's telepathic 'flavour' change as her mind reacted sceptically to Serena's explanation. You know how your Grandfather gets when he is in a 'let's clean the Shrine' mood? Well, that is my Dad when he decides it is time we did something as a family. 

Bummer! Raye's voice was tinged with sympathy now. There was a sudden mental glow that was Raye's irrepressible grim sense of humour at work. Do you need any help? Raye 'asked' in an innocent tone. Want me to use Martian Firestorm to destroy the bandstand? Serena had to choke down an urge to laugh. Sammy looked at her in an odd way, clearly thinking that she was going mad or something.

There was a long pause and Serena could sense something. Raye was talking to someone vocally, probably Chad given the softening of Raye's emotions and the edge of affection that suddenly appeared in her mind. With the sudden move of Raye's mental focus, Serena could also feel something else nearby, just on the edge of her consciousness… a darkness of some kind. She shook her head. There was always darkness stalking Tokyo these days. This was clearly in the upper end of the power bracket. Worse, it was focussed entirely on her, and it made her hackles rise instinctively. Raye… Serena warned.

I got it too, Raye replied, suddenly all business, suddenly entirely the Priestess of Ares, god of war. Trista says that she and the other Outers are already on their way. I'll gather the other Inners and get moving. 

Serena nodded uselessly (Raye had already broken her contact) and changed her focus. A new sensation, a loving golden warmth that seemed to come from everywhere at once filled her perceptions. Darien? 

Keep your eyes open, Darien replied along their aeons-old psychic link. I'm only a few minutes away. 

Hurry, Endymion, Serena said, her increasing nervousness and fear making her slip into using her boyfriend's past and future name. Whatever _it_ was, it was entirely focussed on her and, worse still, her family. It took all of her self-control not to transform _now_ and try to copy Mina's teleport move so she could get them to safety.

"Okay, here we are," Ken Thompson suddenly announced. Serena would have jumped out of her seat if she were not held down by her seatbelt. 

Serena nervously undid her seatbelt and stepped out into the semi-darkened car park. There were few people around, which made Serena feel better. Fewer people who could be Youma hosts or Negaverse agents. She stepped away from the van and looked around her hawkishly, honing her senses to a fine edge as she tried to locate the source of the danger. That is when she heard her mother scream.

Serena turned just in time to see a transformation that was so terrible that not even her worst nightmares came close. Sammy was glowing with a red light and his body was swelling up, with muscles, horny spines and claws extending from his flesh. Within seconds, he was unrecognisable and looked like something out of _Doom_ or _Quake_. Before Serena could put together her wits enough to respond to the sight of her beloved baby brother being transformed into a Youma, a massive black hole opened up in reality and four more clawed spluttering demons leaped out to seize her parents.

The sight of the sneering Negaverse agent, General Wolfspite, standing in the midst of the chaos slipped Serena's mind from 'neutral' to 'drive.' She transformed and leapt forwards, intending to blast this creep into dust before freeing her parents (who had both mercifully fainted from the Youma's energy-stealing touch) and then working on curing Sammy of his curse. To her frustration, the Sammy/Youma jumped in her way. "_Brother Love!_" it bellowed at her.

"Moon glaze distraction," Serena responded. Her body began to glow with blue-white moonlight and the Youma took a step back, fascinated and entranced by the sudden tranquillising energy. Sailor Moon grinned in triumph and leapt forwards to free her parents.

"_Brother Love!_" the largest Youma shrieked again and launched a red energy bolt that knocked her out of the air. Sailor Moon rolled with the impact, but she was still stunned as she rolled to a halt about thirty yards from her imperilled kin. She staggered to her feet and shook her head, trying to reset her brain. How could that demon have resisted the moon glaze distraction?

Wolfspite, ever one to enjoy the sound of his own voice, answered the question for her. "What is the old phrase? 'Familiarity breeds contempt?'" he called out. "Well, it also breeds certain skills, Ms. Thompson. Your brother has been in the presence of your powers so long that he has developed a measurable resistance to them. You will find it difficult to beat one of his power, without killing the host as well as the demon."

Sailor Moon snarled. In a single motion, she snatched the Moon Tiara from her head and threw it at Wolfspite. The Brother Love Youma reached out with one of its' arms and blocked the attack. The energy release made it bellow in agony. "Sammy!" she shouted in useless fear and worry.

Wolfspite began to laugh. "Family love, how touching," he mocked. "If you have quite finished with your useless struggles, Ms. Thompson, I am willing to make a deal."

That caught Sailor Moon's attention. Since when did the Negaverse make _deals_? They conquered and stole. They had never shown an interest in negotiation before. Then something else struck her. Wolfspite had called her 'Ms. Thompson.' She swallowed the automatic response of 'how did you know my name?' before offering a more neutral answer. "Why do you keep calling me 'Ms. Thompson?'" she asked in a deliberately bored tone of voice, drawing herself up regally, trying to maintain the act. "My name is Sailor Moon, or 'Your Royal Highness, Princess Serenity,' to you, traitor."

Wolfspite's laughter became mocking. "You can drop the act, 'Your Highness,'" he sneered. "Your birth name is Serena Elaine Thompson. You are a 16-year-old girl from the Juubian district of Tokyo. This is your mother, father and younger brother." Wolfspite's smile became slightly vicious. "As you can see, we are quite well informed about your _real_ identity."

Sailor Moon sucked in a deep breath. She didn't know how this was possible, and she didn't care. All that mattered was to get her family out of the firing line. "Okay, so you've done your homework, congratulations," she said in a slightly snide tone of voice. "Release them all," she continued calmly. "This is between us, Wolfspite, between Negaverse and Senshi. Don't involve innocents in our war."

"Spare me," Wolfspite shouted angrily. "There are no innocents in this war, Ms. Thompson, only masters and slaves. We of the Negaverse are the masters! Those who will not join us… will be slaves!" The Negaverse general had to spend a second to recover his poise after his impassioned outburst. Finally, he sneered at the Moon Princess. "Our terms for releasing your kin are quite simple, Ms. Thompson," he said. "You will give yourself, willingly and without any resistance, to the service of Negaforce. You will take the place of the late Queen Beryl and lead our forces to ultimate victory."

Serena had to restrain the urge to laugh aloud. _He must be insane to even think… _she thought before suddenly sobering. _But he holds the cards. I'd better stall until I can come up with a plan_. "And if I refuse?" she asked.

Wolfspite smiled. "Well, then we'll see how your mother and father fit in our ranks. I'm sure that, with their knowledge of you, they will both be as useful agents as your brother is proving a useful soldier."

Serena felt an icy gem of terror in her heart. It was clear that Wolfspite, or his mysterious superior, had thought this through pretty carefully. With the Brother Love Youma's resistance to her powers, they even had a decent chance of success. Finally, Serena came to her decision. It was the only one she could make, but she was sure that she would have a hard time looking at her reflection in a mirror ever again. "Forget it Wolf-spit," she snapped. "You are insane if you think I would turn to the Dark Side. I would be betraying everything my family have taught me if I did that, even to protect them."

To Serena's surprise, she saw some respect in the Negaverse general's eyes. "To be honest, Sailor Moon, I never doubted that you would say that," he said quietly. He turned to the nearest Youma. "Take Mr. and Mrs. Thompson to a conversion bay. Brother Love, keep Sailor Moon back until we are clear." The wormhole opened again and Wolfspite and the Youma holding Serena's parents prepared to leave.

"NO!" Sailor Moon screamed. Blazing with the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal suddenly launched herself forwards. The Brother Love Youma blocked her way, but its' resistance to this power was far weaker than that to Serena's normal powers. The two of them were stopped dead with a silver and red flash of light by the interacting powers. The six-armed monster tried to hold the Senshi back as Sailor Moon, half-hysterical, tried to reach the demons dragging her parents off to brainwashing and slavery. "No, Sammy please fight it!" she shouted, sobbing in desperation and terror. "Please let me save them, Sammy!" There was not a hint of recognition or comprehension in the demon's eyes.

Suddenly, a short-stemmed red rose lofted through the air and struck the Youma right between the eyes. The creature reeled back as if it had been struck by a wrecking ball and fell to the ground with an earth-shaking concussion. _Darien!_ Serena's mind exulted. Suddenly she realised that her Prince's arrival might be too late, the other Youma were about to cross the event horizon into the wormhole… and they were still carrying her parents. "Tuxedo Mask!" she shouted. "Collapse the wormhole, quickly!"

If the black-suited Earth Prince was surprised by the request, he didn't hesitate. A single red rose flew into the wormhole; the massive release of Earth elemental energy destabilised the particle flow through the event horizon and caused the formation of a singularity. In an instant, the wormhole collapsed in on itself, the energy backwash blowing Wolfspite and the Youma almost a hundred yards across the car park. The energy flare illuminated the entire city for a split second.

"Now, let's finish this," Tuxedo Mask said firmly, calling upon his full power. "Life energy beam." Red-gold earth elemental energy began to sparkle around his fists as he levelled them at the Brother Love Youma, which was still staggering to its' feet. Before Serena could say a word, the energy blast, more than enough to destroy the monster a dozen times over, lanced across the space.

"No!" Serena shouted, whipping the Moon Sceptre out of its' pouch. "Moon Sceptre Barrier!" The powerful magical shield intercepted Darien's attack and caused it to detonate uselessly in mid-air. Darien looked at Serena in utter disbelief, unable to understand why she would protect a Youma from his attack. "Tuxedo Mask! The Youma's host is Sammy Thompson!"

"That's right, Prince Endymion," Wolfspite shouted, pulling himself to his feet. "If you want your lover's brother and parents freed from the Negaforce, you and she will give yourselves to it _willingly_. Think of the _power_ that you two would enjoy together!" Sailor Moon had to give Wolfspite points for thinking on his feet. Darien had been turned once before to the Dark Side, and, perhaps, he was hoping that would make him more receptive than her.

"Forget it," Tuxedo Mask snapped. "Release them all or face the consequences."

"I don't think you understand the situation," Wolfspite sneered. "You can't defeat Brother Love without killing its' host before I return to the Negaverse with my prisoners. You don't have a choice!"

Suddenly, Sailor Moon realised something and felt an idiot for not realising this before. Wolfspite's entire strategy depended on her being delayed by having to fight the Brother Love Youma without killing Sammy, allowing him to escape with his prisoners. However, the presence of Tuxedo Mask upset that equation. She wondered if the Negaverse agent had realised that yet…

Tuxedo Mask saw Sailor Moon look towards him. Her eyes were red from crying in pain, fear and anger, but they were clear. He also 'saw' what she wanted him to do. Suddenly, the Princess of the Moon was moving forwards. The Brother Love Youma leapt forwards to grab her in a bear hug. However, she wasn't there anymore. Instead, she was soaring gracefully through the sky, somersaulting over the creature's head. Simultaneously, Tuxedo Mask raised his cane and pointed it at the creature usurping the body of the cheerful, optimistic boy he had come to regard as his own brother. A stream of rose petals rushed forwards from the tip of the cane and began to spiral around the Brother Love Youma, trapping it within an invisible cylinder of Earth elemental energy.

Wolfspite was frozen for a second as the Princess of the Moon leapt across the full moon high in the sky and landed behind his force. _So graceful, so powerful and beautiful_, an irreverent part of him thought. _No wonder she is the heir to the Empire… _Before she had even landed, she had destroyed one of the Youma with her Moon Tiara attack. In an inhumanly fast blur of motion, she caught the airborne projectile as it returned and hurled it at another Youma with the full force at her command. 

The second Youma burped "_Lovely!_" and imploded into moon dust.

__

Impossible, Wolfspite thought in horror as his mind recovered from this display of power enough to think coherently about his situation. _This plan can't be failing so fast! It can't!_

The general tried to wrestle his pulse pistol from its' holster. "Brother Love! Attack!" he shrieked. Unfortunately for him, the huge Youma was still trapped within Tuxedo Mask's Petal Life Trap. Wolfspite briefly caught Sailor Moon's eyes and didn't like what he saw there one bit.

"Moon heart spiral!" Sailor Moon shouted, pointing both arms at Wolfspite. Projectiles of blue-white energy (all shaped like little valentine hearts) formed a spiral of energy around her forearms. The energy vortex suddenly flashed forwards like horizontal tornado of energy and slammed into the Negaverse agent. The man screamed in agony as the surge of life energy overloaded his Negaforce shielding and dampened his dark powers to a dangerously low level.

The two remaining Youma, nearly mindless beasts at the best of times, were now in a serious dilemma. Their standing orders were to keep hold of their prisoners. However, their commander was clearly in mortal peril, and shouldn't he be their first priority?

They immediately released their prisoners and lunged towards Sailor Moon. "Sailor Moon! Watch out!" Tuxedo Mask shouted.

"Concentrate on your prisoner!" Sailor Moon replied. She couldn't risk Sammy… the Brother Love Youma getting loose. She leapt over the two charging monsters and landed behind them. Her Moon Soul Blade flashed in a single pearly white arc and neatly cut both Youma in half through their waists. They imploded into light and were gone.

Wolfspite staggered to his feet and realised that he was in serious trouble. He was running dangerously low on power and he had also just run out of troops. He pulled out his pulse pistol and pointed it at Sailor Moon in an attempt at a threat. Sailor Moon smiled dangerously, another moon heart spiral attack curling around her right fist. She lifted her left hand and beckoned the Negaverse agent forwards, inviting him to take his best shot.

Wolfspite didn't get to be a general by being dumb enough to engage in single combat with a young woman who was perilously close to being a goddess. He holstered his sidearm. "Very well, I yield," he suddenly announced. "You've only won a battle though, Ms. Thompson," he continued. "You can't be everywhere, you know. Eventually, one day, we will get your family and the only way you will be able to save them is to surrender to us. Do it now and save them unnecessary agony."

"You are hardly in the position to be delivering ultimatums, General," Sailor Moon replied.

"Nonetheless, it is made," Wolfspite replied. "Consider it well." With that, the dark wizard opened a wormhole, stepped through it and vanished. The wormhole closed behind him and all was still.

Sailor Moon sagged for a moment as the adrenaline rushed from her system, then turned to her parents. They were still lying slumped on the blacktop where the Youma had dropped them. "Mama! Papa!" she cried, rushing towards them.

Suddenly four familiar figures dropped out of the sky each wearing armour similar to Serena's, only in blue, green and two shades of grey. "Gods! What happened here?" Sailor Uranus said in disbelief. She looked up and pointed at the Brother Love Youma, which was pounding uselessly on the walls of Tuxedo Mask's trap as the rose petals continued to spiral around it. "And what in all the hells is that thing?"

"It is my brother," Sailor Moon said in a low, hopeless tone of voice. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as her heart finally caught up with Wolfspite's threats. "They… they were after my family Alex… they… they wanted to turn them and use them against us… I…"

"Hey… Shh… Cool down, Serena," Sailor Uranus said, hugging her young friend awkwardly. The woman with the short, boyish blonde hair turned to her sister Senshi. "Heather, Trista, how are Serena's folks?"

Sailor Saturn and Sailor Pluto were already kneeling beside the two unconscious people. "They are unconscious, but unharmed and untainted," The Champion of Destruction and Rebirth announced in her hyper-serious tone of voice. Although Heather's main power lay in the shadows of the Death Force, paradoxically it made her a superb healer and one who could intimately know the quality of a person's soul. "They will likely have little memory of this."

"But what are we going to do about _him_?" Tuxedo Mask asked, gesturing to his prisoner.

Sailor Moon broke away from Sailor Uranus' hug and turned to face her Prince. An idea had come to her mind; one that had forming there since this horror had begun. "I… I have an idea," she said, gulping down her tears. "I can cure him, but I need him immobilised."

"Okay…" Tuxedo Mask said sceptically, generating another red rose. He dispelled the petal life trap and threw the rose, blowing the Youma onto its' back again.

"Ground bonds!" Sailor Uranus commanded. Rocky arms suddenly swelled out of the blacktop and seized the Youma, holding it still.

"Okay," Sailor Moon said, pulling out her Soul Blade again. "This is tricky, but I think I can do it."

"Careful," Tuxedo Mask said as his true love clambered up onto the huge creature's chest. The four Outer Senshi, who had drawn their own Soul Blades (or Glave of Silence, in Saturn's case), mirrored his concern. 

Sailor Moon was standing on the centre of the creature's chest now, the tip of her blade touching its' hide. _Queen Serenity, mother,_ the young woman prayed, _goddess Diana, guide my arm now. Give me success and cure this innocent of this evil_. With a sudden motion, Sailor Moon drove the blade into the creature's chest and then yanked it out. The Youma made a gargling noise and stopped struggling against its' rocky restraints.

"Serena! Gods! Why?" Tuxedo Mask shouted in disbelief. 

The Outers jumped and Sailor Neptune covered her mouth, looking utterly horrified. "Serena! You've _killed _him!" she protested.

Suddenly, Sailor Pluto's hand was on the shoulder of the aqua-garbed Champion of the Oceans. "Watch and learn, Michelle," the ancient Champion of Time counselled.

As they watched, a black stinking smog poured from the wound in the creature's chest and boiled into the night sky. It formed a massive cloud overhead, howling like a million lost souls as it did so. Simultaneously, the body on the ground shrunk down until it was that of a twelve-year-old boy… a _living _twelve-year-old boy. The Youma, now separated from its' host, howled inarticulately and prepared to attack.

"Moon planet power!" Sailor Moon shouted. It was a needlessly powerful attack, but she needed a release of her anger right now. Blue-white energy crackled around her hands, which were pressed together over her head as if in prayer. Then she pointed those joined hands at the monster and let loose her most powerful attack. The blinding pulse of blue-white light was so powerful that the Youma was simply atomised before it could make a sound.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke. Sailor Moon had dropped to her knees at Sammy's side. The boy was moaning and groaning as he slowly regained consciousness. With infinite care and love, Sailor Moon cushioned his head in her lap and pulled the Crescent Moon Wand from its' place. "Moon healing glow," she whispered. The blue-white light covered Sammy for a moment and his eyes opened.

"Sailor Moon?" he said. He tried to rise and look around, but he was still too weak. Nightmare images of being transformed and enslaved were crashing about in his mind, disorienting him further. "Wh… where is my family? My mother and father…? Where is my sister?"

Sailor Moon covered her brother's lips with a hand. "Shh… quiet, stay calm," she said. "Your parents are unconscious, but they are going to be fine. I sent your sister to call for an ambulance." Sammy turned his head to see the Outers, aided by Tuxedo Mask, carefully arranging his parents in a comfortable position nearby. "You were attacked by monsters, but we drove them away," Sailor Moon continued. "You are very weak. Sleep now."

That command was backed up by the power of the Crescent Moon Wand. Sammy's eyes began to relentlessly close, but before he relaxed into a healing sleep he had a chance to look at the heroine above him and whisper out one word: "Se… re… na…?"

Sailor Moon lowered her brother's head to the ground and stood. She turned to Tuxedo Mask and nearly fell into his arms. The shock and the anguish of the night was catching up on her now, and she needed his strength to just stay upright. After a moment, she turned to her recently acquired friends. "Guys," she said, "I'd better call an ambulance, just as I told myself to," she giggled slightly and was appalled at the edge of hysteria in that sound. "Look, Raye and the others are on the way. Tell them the situation is under control here but…"

"But if they have attacked the family of one Inner Senshi, they may attack the families of the others," Sailor Pluto finished for her in a grim tone of voice. "We'll split up and protect them, Serena, don't worry about that."

"This fight is getting ugly," Sailor Saturn added quietly. "Now the Negaverse are targeting our kin! It makes a girl happy that she doesn't have a family anymore." Sailor Moon winced at that comment. Heather didn't mean anything bad by her words, but the implication was clear that she thought that Serena herself would be better off without a family.

"Nice way to help someone, 'Little Miss Sunshine,'" Sailor Uranus snapped, thumping her colleague on the shoulder. "Let's go."

Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask watched as the Outer Senshi rose into the skies and were soon lost from sight. There was a sparkle of light and they were Serena Thompson and Darien Shields again. As if in a dream, Serena pulled her pink mobile phone from her belt and dialled the city's emergency number. After the operator assured her that an ambulance was on the way, Serena fell into Darien's arms and began to cry helplessly.

***

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Luna announced unhappily.

Serena was sitting on her bed, looking out of the window. "Neither do I," she admitted. "But Luna, I can't think of any other way to handle this." Her feline guardian nodded sadly. Her family had been discharged from hospital within an hour, seemingly unharmed by their experience. However, Serena had not slept last night, spending hour after hour using the power of the Crescent Moon Wand to ensure that none of them, especially Sammy, had any memory of the horrors that had been inflicted upon him. The rest of the time she had spent fretting about what she should do next.

Now, this Sunday morning, she had come to a momentous decision, one that must, by necessity, change everything. "I just can't forget Wolfspite's threat," Serena explained. "I _can't_ be everywhere, Luna. I can't protect them from the Negaverse so long as they are ignorant of the threat to them."

"But can't you just give them an edited version of events?" Luna protested weakly. 

Serena could tell that this protest was for show only. She stroked the cat's head. "No," she said. "If I tell them just of the threat, they will want to know _how_ I know. I could lie, but something tells me that this would be playing into the Negaverse's hands."

Luna sighed and stood up, pacing restlessly on her liege-lady's bed. "Serena, I am really very uneasy about this whole plan," she said.

Serena sighed. "If you have any other ideas…?" she asked, a little hope lifting her voice.

Luna shook her head with a laugh. "No," she said. "No, Princess, I do not, and that is the really frustrating part of this. This attack, this whole strategy, is just so unexpected. Nothing could prepare you for it, and there is no foolproof response on your part, given the Negaverse's demonstrated capabilities." The cat shook her head at last. "No, there is no other way. However, you should be aware that this must, necessarily, change your relationship with them forever."

"I know," Serena said, tears trickling from her eyes now. "That part hurts, Luna… But how else can I keep them safe? Safe for now, anyway."

Luna nodded wisely. "In both her visits to our time, Rini was quite certain about the fact that her grandparents did not survive the advent of the Crystal Millennium," she said. "Darien's parents have been dead for over a decade, but yours…"

"So long as they didn't know who I really was, there was a slight chance that Serena Thompson's parents might have survived, even if Neo-Queen Serenity's parents did not," Serena completed Luna's thought. "Who knew what crazy story I might have made public to protect them from the Dark Moon family?" Serena wiped away her tears and sucked in a sob. "By telling them my identity, by making our kinship known, I am signing their death warrants."

Luna sighed and climbed up onto her mistress' chest to rub her face supportively. "Remember what Sailor Pluto is always trying to teach you," she advised. "The future is forever in motion. There is no 'destiny,' no 'fate,' other than that we make for ourselves. Do as you feel is necessary to protect your family from the Dark Kingdom and hope that by preparation, determination and blind luck you are able to write some history of your own."

***

Serena slowly walked downstairs to the living room and marvelled about how _normal_ everything was. There was no indication that the minions of the Negaverse had attacked her family not twelve hours previously. Her father was gamely trying to beat Sammy in a game of _Pokémon Arena 2_ while her mother was dusting the mantelpiece. _You would think that nothing untoward had happened_, Serena thought. _Is this confidence, ignorance or denial?_ She cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me?" Everyone looked up. "Could I talk to you for a moment?"

Everyone could sense the waves of emotion radiating from Serena's tense body. Without a question, they gathered around her. "What is it, darling?" Irene asked her daughter in a loving, supportive tone of voice.

"It's about what happened last night," Serena began. "Those monsters attacking us…"

"Serena, we've talked about this," her father said firmly. "This was just a random attack, like has been happening all through Tokyo for years now. There is no reason to believe we will be attacked ever again."

"I… I'm afraid that isn't true, Dad," Serena said firmly, a tremor of unease in her voice.

There was a long silent pause. "What makes you say that?" her mother asked, her kind face filled with worry.

"Because I'm their target," Serena explained. "They will attack again, because they are after me."

"Serena, that's just stupid, and conceited," Sammy scoffed. "Why should you be different from the millions of Tokyo?"

"Because I'm not like everyone else," Serena said. She looked at their faces, trying to decide on what to say next. She had been rehearsing all night and all morning and had come no closer to deciding exactly what she should say. "This is so hard," she added lamely. She noted that her father looked openly sceptical, obviously attributing her words to teenage female hysteria. Sammy looked worried, concerned and, somehow, uncertain, as if something was tugging at some memory that the Crescent Moon Wand had not soothed away. Her mother's expression was entirely neutral, except for a distant sadness and this worried Serena, as she couldn't decide what that expression might mean.

"Let your sister talk, Sammy," her mother said quietly. "Tell us, dear, why do you think these demons are targeting you?"

"Because… because…" Serena's voice faded. "Oh, this is useless, I can't _tell_ you!"

"Yes you can, darling!" her mother protested.

"Serena, if you are in trouble, you should tell us at once," her father chimed in.

"I can't just _tell_ you, because you would never believe just the words!" Serena continued as if neither of them had spoken. "I'll just have to _show _you!" Before any of her family could react, Serena pulled out her Disguise Pen and uttered the magic words. "Moon Crystal power! _Make up_!" Ribbons of light and swirling stars suddenly surrounded Serena, making the other three jump back. Suddenly, she was standing there in white body armour with a blue chiffon sash. A golden brooch with the emblem of the moon was on the front of her left hip and a golden tiara with a blue gemstone was on her forehead.

Her father looked ready to fall over, his mouth had dropped open and Serena could swear he had stopped breathing. Sammy looked astounded, disbelieving and _excited_. Serena could just about hear the words: 'Cool! Wait until I tell my friends!' Her mother still looked sad and… oddly enough… relieved.

"You… you…" her father stuttered. He stopped and shook his head. "This is a dream… a nightmare!"

"I wish," Serena said quietly. "This is real, Dad. I… I am Sailor Moon, the Champion of Justice, the Priestess of Diana and heir to the Kingdom of the Moon."

"I know," Irene said unexpectedly. Serena looked at her mother in deep disbelief. "Whenever Sailor Moon was on the news, you were not around," her mother continued. "You have those four close friends with whom you spend so much time, and there were five Sailor Senshi until just recently. It could have been a coincidence if it only happened once, but again and again? And then there is your young man, Darien Shields… Is he the one they call 'Tuxedo Mask?'"

Serena got control of her voice again. "I can't say one way or the other," she said at last. "Those aren't my secrets to reveal, Mama."

"I… I guess I knew last night," Sammy said. "In the car park, I looked into your eyes and I knew who you were, even though I couldn't see your face clearly."

"The eyes are the window of the soul," their mother said reverently. "There are some things that no magic could hide. That is why I knew almost from the beginning." Suddenly, Serena found herself hugging her mother hard. Irene stroked her hand through her daughter's hair and endured the hard touch of the kevlar plating making up her body armour as it pressed into her. "When I was carrying you, I could feel that my baby would be something special," she said gently. "I always knew that you were more than just my daughter, that you would be vessel to something wonderful, something from beyond time."

"I love you so much, Mama," Serena whispered. "I may have the soul of a princess from thousands of years ago, but I'll always be your daughter." Irene's only response was to hug Sailor Moon a little harder.

Finally, Serena looked at her father, who had gone pale and seemed to be having difficulty taking all this in. "Please understand, Daddy," she said. "I don't want you to hate me."

Ken sucked in a deep breath. "How long?" he asked at last.

"My powers first appeared just after I had my first period," Serena said. "I started training when I was thirteen, and I went into battle for the first time just after my fourteenth birthday, although the press didn't start reporting the exploits of the Senshi until some time after that." Serena didn't mention _who_ was doing the training. She didn't think her parents were ready for the concept of a talking cat.

"My little girl, the warrior," Serena's father whispered. He laughed ruefully. "My father always insisted that I was dense and here is the proof. I didn't once guess that something was amiss. Not once did I even have a hint of a clue about this!"

"I did go to a lot of trouble to keep this secret," Serena said in a wry tone of voice. She looked at her mother with a slight grin. "Obviously, I wasn't careful enough."

"So this is why those monsters attacked," Sammy announced. "They were trying to get to you through us. They wanted to use us against you."

Serena nodded. "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this war I seem to have inherited," she said.

Her father shook his head. "We're your kin, Serena. That makes this our war as much as it is yours. You should have come to us at once."

"Don't be naïve, Ken," Serena's mother interrupted. "How would have we reacted? She was right to keep her secret for as long as she could."

"But that isn't possible anymore," Serena said. "The Negaverse, that's the name of the bad guys, have made threats against you, specific threats. I can't protect you from them without you knowing exactly what is going on and why." Serena explained as concisely and as clearly as she could. She told them about the Negaverse and its' eternal quest for dominion. She told them about its' hellish ability to turn men into monsters. Finally, she told them about how the agents of the Negaverse had hoped to use them as weapons against her. After she finished her explanation, her family was very quiet.

"So what do we do?" Sammy asked at last. He was trying to look brave, but Serena could tell he was terrified. Hey, that was okay by her, as she was terrified too.

"I've thought about that," Serena said. She touched her brooch and the Silver Imperium Crystal appeared, glowing brightly. Serena pulled it from the brooch and held it up to the light. "Hold out your right hands, please," she said. When everyone complied, Serena concentrated and held up her hands as if in prayer. The Silver Imperium Crystal continued to hover in place and its' warm moonlight-like glow began to intensify. A single gem of light appeared in each hand and solidified into a blue-white crystal. "These are Moon Gems," she said. "They are concentrated pieces of the energy that gives me my powers." She sucked in a deep breath. "Please press them to your chests, right over your hearts."

Her kin complied and the gems seemed to sink into their bodies as if they were made of hot wax. A warm blue-white glow briefly covered everyone's bodies before it quickly faded away. "Cool," Sammy said. "Does that mean that we have powers too, now, Sis?"

Serena shook her head. "No, Sammy, it doesn't," she said. Sammy's face fell comically. "However, it _does_ mean that you have some… special abilities. For a start, the power of the gems will prevent a Youma from possessing your bodies. Additionally, their power will provide you with a limited energy shield that will protect you from most light Negaforce attacks. As I can sense and manipulate lunar elemental energy in all forms, it also means that I will know exactly where you are at any moment. If you are attacked, I will know immediately, and I will be able to rescue you." Serena didn't tell them that she had never tried a teleport before, let alone the very difficult remote recall teleport she was now proposing. They would all have to get used to doing new things from now on. Serena placed the Silver Imperium Crystal back into her brooch and it faded from view.

Sammy was grinning up at Serena in an infuriating way. "This is _so_ cool," he said. "I can't wait to tell everyone at school!"

"Sammy!" their mother began in an angry tone of voice.

"Kidding!" Sammy protested, turning his flashing amber eyes to his mother. "Mom, you don't think I am so stupid as to blab this about do you?"

"Serena…" 

Serena looked at her father. "Yes, Daddy?"

"I love you very much, my darling little girl," her father said gently. "And I am very proud of how brave and strong you are growing up to be." Then all four members of the Thompson family were hugging tightly.

The Crystal Palace, Tokyo, 2946AD (Year 28 of the Crystal Millennium) 

Queen Serenity II, ruler of the Crystal Kingdom and guardian of the new golden age of humankind looked down from the window over the palace gardens. She smiled at the sight. King Endymion, her husband, her co-ruler and her soul mate, was wrestling with their two youngest children, the five-year-old twins Mark and Joanna. To one side, their now-teenage daughter, Serena ('Rini'), was sitting on a bench, reading a book. She was obviously not getting involved with the immature rough play that was taking place before her. At the advanced age of seventeen, she was _too_ mature for such babyish stuff. To her mother's amusement, Rini turned away with a disgusted snort and looked in the opposite direction, flicking her long red hair around her to indicate her total separation from the horseplay. _Reminds me of a certain Queen not a hundred miles from this spot_, Serena thought to herself with a wild grin as the giggling of the youngest children reached her at the window. _I learnt to unbend, of course, thanks primarily to Darien_. 

Serena walked back to her desk where, in fits and starts she had been trying to write her autobiography. She brushed one of her ondangos aside (her hair silver now, from the weight that had pressed onto her shoulders since the beginning of the Crystal Millennium) and considered the last part she had written again, the bit about the ending of secrets. It was odd thinking about how terrifying it was, opening that long-secret part of her life, even to her family. However, there had been no other viable course of action open to her, and the way that she was forced to protect her family from several further attacks proved the wisdom of her decision. Even Luna had to admit that eventually.

Of course, there had been another benefit to her risky seat-of-the-pants plan, one that she had not foreseen or even hoped for. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and a herald in the stylish red-and-white livery that Mina had designed walked in. "Your Majesty?" he asked politely. Serena nodded and gestured to him to speak. "Your Majesty, your guests have just arrived and are in the gardens, as you commanded."

"Thank you," Serena said. "Please tell our visitors that we shall join them shortly." The herald bowed once and left, closing the door behind him. 

Serena put down her pen and walked to the window. She smiled as she watched the reaction of Rini, ever the detached and dignified one. Her daughter raised her head and gasped in joy. She flung away her book, tore off her sunglasses and ran forwards, red ondangos flying in her wake. "Grandma! Grandpa!" she shouted joyfully and flung herself into Kenneth and Irene Thompson's arms, hugging them tightly. Mark and Joanna were quick to launch themselves into the group hug, as was Andrew, Serena and Darien's oldest son.

Serena smiled as she watched grandparents and grandchildren greet each other. Yes, even the darkest of times and the most desperate of decisions could lead to good results, if only you dared to shape your own destiny.

****

End of Chapter 1

Next time on 'A Secret No More': Amy Anderson – Sailor Mercury.

Or will it? Please tell me, kind readers: Should I continue this story? I have a variety of ideas regarding how people close to the different Senshi (including Darien and even Rini) find out that they are also superheroes.

Should I continue? Tell me by emailing me!


	2. Amy Anderson - Sailor Mercury

****

Sailor Moon

A Secret No More – By BenRG

****

Legal Disclaimer

Sailor Moon, and all the characters and events therein were created by Naoko Takeuchi. The property is owned by several companies, none of whom have any connection to me. I don't own anything much. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the worldwide web. Any attempt to sue me will merely lead to a clear definition of the word 'penniless.'

****

Author's Notes

OK – This is going to get Kaz mad at me, but I know what I want. 

I have read a lot of Sailor Moon fanfics and suddenly this idea jumped into my head. Work with me here, as I don't know much about the story's continuity or the various characters, I'm playing it by ear based on other authors' works. I'll also be adding some of my own concepts that will violate what I know is established continuity. Don't worry, I know the details are wrong, but I need to add my own 'feel' to the story.

I am using the names 'Alex' for Haruka and 'Heather' for Hotaru because I like them better. Mark Berger originally used these names for these characters in his stories 'The Wedding' and 'Married Life.'

I'm using the dub names because I'm not sure of the 'real' names, and I don't know enough Japanese names to name all the secondary characters. Nonetheless, with the exception of Glen, Richard and Mina, all the main characters are ethnic Japanese living in Tokyo.

****

Censor: PG-13 for safety's sake

Ages, The Senshi: Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are all 16; Raye is 19; Heather is 16; Alex and Michelle are 22; Trista is at least 25,000 years old, but doesn't look a day over 25

Ages, The Planetary Knights: Darien is 21; Glen is 18; Greg is 16; Ken is 16; Richard is 18; Chad is 20

Text in _Italics_ are thoughts;

Text in Triangular Brackets is psychic communication;

****

Chapter 2 – Amy Anderson – Sailor Mercury

It was Sunday night. At the other side of the Juubian district from the Thompson household, a short 16-year-old girl was sitting at her PC in her bedroom. Amy Anderson _looked_ like she was studying hard, as usual, but she was actually talking to her four closest friends in the world using the MS Messenger 'chat' system. A quick look at the screen would tell you that 'Princess_S' (Serena), 'Luv_Grrl' (Mina), 'Flame-R' (Raye) and 'lh_da_cook' (Lita) were all on-line and 'chatting' with 'Brainz' (Amy herself).

BRAINZ: So, your parents are cool about this?

PRINCESS_S: Well, maybe. I don't think that they've got over the shock yet :-D

FLAME-R: You know, Serena, you took a hell of a risk there. What if they couldn't handle it?

LUV_GRRL: Oh, close your mouth, Raye. How would *you* deal with something like this?

FLAME-R: Well, I would… Uh… :-/ Gods, Mina, I don't know. I'm just glad that I *didn't* have to

LUV_GRRL: That's what I love about you, Raye Hino. Quick to criticise whether or not you've got a better idea ;-)

lh_da_cook: Don't rub it in, Mina. Raye is just saying that Serena took a risk. But you already know that, don't you Sere-chan?

PRINCESS_S: Tell me about it, I think I lost about ten pounds sweating over it |-P

FLAME-R: You can afford to. You eat too much as it is. XD

PRINCESS_S: Nice :-( 

lh_da_cook: Hey! People who like lots of rich food are fine by me :-)

FLAME-R: lol

PRINCESS_S: I'm still not laughing :-(

FLAME-R: Sorry, Ondango Atama. It's a low blow, I know. Truthfully I would love to know how you keep your figure with all that chocolate you eat ;-)

LUV_GRRL: Jealous ;-)

BRAINZ: Back to the topic, guys! Realistically, I don't think Serena had any other alternative. It isn't as if she revealed all of our identities. And her parents and brother have sworn themselves to secrecy. 

FLAME-R: Well, I wish I had your confidence in people, Amy. Look, guys, my Grandpa is calling. I'll talk to you tomorrow evening, unless the Negaverse attacks, of course.

BRAINZ: C-ya, Raye-chan

[FLAME-R has logged off MSM]

BRAINZ: So, who wants to talk about the Physics homework that's due on Tuesday?

PRINCESS_S: Uh, no thanks, Amy-chan. I'm trying to avoid it

LUV_GRRL: Me too! Quantum this and quantum that! And what is this I read about putting cats in boxes with poison gas? Sounds like something the Negaverse would do for fun 8O Artemis and Luna will be steamed if they find out that those sort of experiments go on in school :-(

BRAINZ: Uh… ¬_¬; Mina-chan, that is an illustration about how things are uncertain at the quantum level. No one would *really* do that experiment; besides you couldn't make it work for real.

PRINCESS_S: %P

LUV_GRRL: %P

BRAINZ: [Bangs head on table]

[ROSEMAN_01 has logged on MSM]

ROSEMAN_01: Hi, girls. Hello, to Usako especially XXXX

PRINCESS_S: [Blushes bright red] Hello Dari-chan [Hearts in eyes]

LUV_GRRL: Yuck, I'm out of here |-P

lh_da_cook: Me too! Guys, you don't have to find a room, because you now have one to yourselves ;-)

[LUV_GRRL has logged off MSM]

[lh_da_cook has logged off MSM]

Amy laughed to herself as she made her own excuses and logged off Messenger, leaving Darien and Serena to flirt in private. She had her love for Greg, something that kept her warm on the loneliest of nights, but there was something about the relationship between Darien and Serena that seemed to radiate a warmth that made even the astoundingly mushy Mina Love uncomfortable. _Still,_ she added to herself, _they've loved each other for every lifetime they've shared over maybe twenty-five millennia. That isn't bad for any relationship._

Leaving her computer to go over to power-save mode, Amy climbed onto her bed and picked up the book on high school-level physics that she had been studying (for the aforementioned homework due on Tuesday). However, tonight her usual legendary focus just wouldn't kick in. No matter how she tried, she couldn't get past what had happened last night and today. Not only had the Negaverse blown Serena's cover, but she had to tell her parents about her secret identity.

Amy tried to imagine telling _her _mother, the redoubtable Dr. Helen Anderson, of her secret and she felt sick to her stomach at even the thought of it. Her mother had a comforting illusion about Amy being the perfect daughter, who studied hard and was nothing like her four wild friends. If she knew that Amy had lost her innocence at fourteen she would probably go ballistic. If she found out that her little girl was also Sailor Mercury, the Champion of Truth and the Priestess of Hermes, she would probably end up landing in the ruins of Raye's old home on Mars!

Amy was also worrying about Raye's concerns, more than she had revealed to the others. Serena had told them that her mother had figured out her secret identity long before and had not said anything because she respected her daughter's right to her secret. That raised two major worries in Amy's mind. Firstly, did that mean she knew about them too? Serena had told them that her mother had figured out that Darien was Tuxedo Mask, although Serena had confirmed none of her suspicions on that matter. Secondly, if one parent had figured this out, would others have done so too? Amy's own mother was smart, and her medical training had taught her to be aware of small details and make connections…

__

I'm going paranoid, Amy decided at last. _I'm fretting myself into insomnia about something that may not even be a problem. _Amy sighed. _I am just thinking about this too hard. I've just got to relax and go with the flow. If this _does_ become a problem, I'll deal with it then._ Unbidden, thinking of 'going with the flow' reminded her of Greg's words on that most memorable night: 'Amy-chan, you think too much sometimes, do you know that? Sometimes you have just got to stop _thinking_ and act on what you _know_ is right inside. Act on instinct.' She had taken that advice and recalling that fact made her face burn with a bright blush.

__

That's it, I'm going to make myself some hot chocolate and put myself to bed, she decided. Firstly, though, she would wash her face in some cold water, so that her mother wouldn't wonder about what she was so flushed about…

"Hello, Amy," her mother said, looking up from a medical textbook (like mother, like daughter, after all) as she saw her daughter coming down the stairs. "Have you finished your homework?"

"All the homework due tomorrow, Mom," Amy replied. "I can't focus on the rest tonight, so I'm going to just go to bed and return with a fresh mind tomorrow."

Helen Anderson frowned when she heard that. Her daughter rarely had a problem focussing on academic matters. "Everything is all right, isn't it Amy? You aren't sick are you?" Helen stood up and gracefully walked over to her daughter. She touched the back of her hand to her daughter's cheek. "You _are_ a bit hot."

Amy blushed brightly again. "I'm okay, Mom," she said. She quickly assembled a plausible lie. "I've been talking to Serena over Messenger," she explained. "She's still a bit shaken up about what happened yesterday and we've all been trying to reassure her. It got a bit upsetting sometimes."

Her mother sighed. "Yes, it is terrible, everything that has happened recently," she admitted. "Those monsters that plague us are just so horrifying! I feel so sorry for that little girl having to go through that. Still, at least those wonderful Senshi girls were able to save them!" Helen smiled thoughtfully. "I wonder what it is like, having a daughter who is a superhero?" She was very surprised when her daughter, who was walking towards the kitchen at that moment, suddenly tripped over her own feet. "Amy! Are you okay?"

"Fine, just a bit tired," Amy said, getting to her feet as fast as she could. 

"Well… maybe you _have_ been working a bit too hard," her mother allowed in a slightly unhappy tone of voice. "Perhaps you need an early night. Early for you, that is." She leaned against the doorway in between living room and kitchen and watched for a moment as Amy began to prepare herself a cup of hot chocolate. Once Amy was finished she stepped back and let her daughter past, noting how much she had grown in the last two years. She was still the shortest of the gang of five teenage girls who met at the Hino Shrine, but she was unmistakably now a young woman rather than a child. "Amy," Helen called gently as her daughter walked towards the stairs.

"Yes, Mom?" Amy replied, her expression guileless.

"Before you go to bed, I would like to talk to you," she said. She sat down on the couch and patted it, encouraging her daughter to sit beside her. "As you know, the University Hospital is having its' annual ball next Wednesday." Amy nodded. "Now, every member of the faculty and every student at the hospital is invited, and we're allowed to bring one guest with us. I've been thinking about who I'm going to be taking to the ball."

"I thought that you would be bringing James," Amy said, her expression mirroring her concern. Dr. James Unwin was a cardiologist and someone to whom her divorced mother was getting closer and closer. Could something be amiss in their relationship?

"Amy, James is a member of the faculty, so I don't have to bring him with me, he'll be there anyway!" Amy blushed slightly, feeling silly for having forgotten that. "So I would like to bring you with me to the ball." 

Amy gasped in joy. The ball was the biggest major society event in the Juubian district and she was being invited! Then her face fell. "Mom," she said quietly, "I've got a lot to do Wednesday night…"

"Amy…" Amy's mother broke off and sighed. "How to say this…? You are a young woman now, and it isn't healthy for you to spend so much of your spare time at home." Amy opened her mouth to protest, but her mother raised a hand to stop her. "I know you have your four friends that you meet at the Shrine, Amy, and I know that you have Greg too, but you should really think about widening out your circle of friends. You… well…" Helen laughed and stroked her daughter's short hair. "You aren't my little baby anymore, Amy, and you should be thinking about finding someone with whom you will want to spend the rest of your life."

Amy's mouth had dropped open as she considered her mother's words. What her mother _didn't_ know, of course, was that Amy had already found that person; that two years ago she and Greg had sworn to remain together forever (which could be a _very_ long time, based on what Rini let slip during her last visit). Two years later, that impulsive early-teen oath had not come close to being broken. Now, the question was should Amy tell her that?

"Mom, I understand what you're saying," Amy said at last. "You shouldn't worry, though. Greg and I are pretty close." _Whew, not so bad_, she added mentally in self-congratulation.

Her mother laughed. "I know you and he are very close friends, Amy, but you shouldn't restrict yourself. Who knows whom you might meet? Or whom _he_ might meet, that will change everything?"

That caught Amy's attention. The thought of Greg finding another girl horrified her. However, just as the cold, icy hand of doubt was closing around her heart, she saw something in the back of her mind, something like a memory but not a memory… She saw herself and Greg, older somehow, wearing formal costume, dancing in a ballroom somewhere. She looked up and saw the _Earth_ shining through the dome of the ballroom. Amy blinked and snapped back to here-and-now. _Queen Serenity's palace in the Silver Millennium!_ Amy thought excitedly, remembering the location from Serena's description of her own dreams of that lost golden age. _Could Greg and I have met… before?_ Amy decided that she needed to talk to Trista about this. The Champion of Time had known all of the Senshi and their significant others during the end of the Silver Millennium and would be able to tell her the answer, if, of course, she felt it would not 'disrupt the flow of destiny.'

"Amy, darling, are you okay?"

Amy looked at her mother and realised how it must have looked, her suddenly spacing-out like that. "Yeah, I'm fine, Mom. I guess I am a little more tired than I thought." Amy thought for a moment. Suddenly, a sneaky idea came into her mind. "Mom, is James bringing anyone with him?" she asked innocently. Her mother shook her head. "Well… uh… could you ask him to invite Greg?" Her mother opened her mouth, but Amy carried on. "After all, how am I going to check out my options if I can't do a real-time comparison?"

Helen started laughing and impulsively hugged her surprised daughter. "Spoken like a true Mitsuma," she said, referring to her maiden name. "Okay, darling, I'll ask James to sponsor Greg to the ball for you."

***

"You are going to the University Hospital ball?" Lita asked, nearly going green with envy. "And your Mom is going to arrange it so Greg can go too? Oh, Amy-chan! That is _sooo_ cool it is unbelievable!"

Amy shrugged modestly as the friends (minus Serena, who was pushing for that high score on _Raptor_ again) sat at their table in the Crown Café. "What can I say, guys?" she said smugly. "There has to be some compensation for having a doctor for a mother." The other three giggled at hearing this, even Raye, who would have once refused to be so… girlish. _Chad is so good for her_, Amy thought, noticing this change in the novice priestess's demeanour. "Anyway, I'll need to find a decent dress and hairdo. You know me, I'm just clueless when it comes to that stuff…" Amy suddenly stopped when she realised what she had done. Mina, Lita and Raye all looked at each other in a determined way. With a sinking sense of disaster, Amy realised the she would be spending most of this evening touring dress shops with her friends.

Suddenly there was a loud whoop of joy. "I did it!" Serena shouted. "I beat the high score and… Gods! Not again!" Amy turned around just in time to see the explosions on the video game's monitor as Serena's virtual fighter was blown out of the sky. A flashing red message appeared: 'RECORD BREAKER!!!' A laughing Darien virtually lifted Serena from her seat and swung her around him. The two of them kissed in a way that made Lita and Mina's mouths drop open.

"Wow, is it hot in here, or is it me?" Mina asked herself in a hoarse tone of voice as Raye and Amy both thought relaxed, happy thoughts about certain special guys.

***

"Next time, Serena, attack first and make the speeches later," Sailor Mars snapped as the five Inner Senshi were flying back towards the Hino Shrine where they would transform back into their cover identities. Raye would also take the opportunity to treat her sprained left arm, which a Youma had tried to yank off during a particularly un-noteworthy battle in a shopping mall.

"It's not my fault," Serena whined pitifully. "I get nervous, okay? I say something to give myself time to get my brain on the right page!" Sailor Moon sighed in resignation. "It doesn't help that Princess Serenity was trained in oratory and she just loved making speeches. I think that part of her just _takes over_ sometimes!"

"You really need to increase the strength of your will, Serena" Raye said darkly. "I'll teach you some meditation exercises that will help. You never see Princess Rai influencing _my_ actions after all."

"Really?" Serena asked, smiling slightly. That made Amy wonder idly if Raye's former life influenced her friend's behaviour more than she realised. Serena's memories of the Silver Millennium were more coherent and extensive than those recalled thus far by any of the other Inner Senshi. She was often making observations about these similarities.

"Yeah! Really!" Raye snapped.

"Are you _sure_?" Serena asked in a cooing, sugar-sweet tone of voice. Raye went as bright red as her battle armour and launched a string of insults at the girl she loved like a younger sister. Serena endured the tongue-lashing and stored away the more inventive insults for her own personal use. 

In truth, Amy was only paying a little attention to the now-traditional post-battle Serena-verses-Raye sniping. She was thinking of the wonderful dress that Mina had found in a dress shop and of the sketches of a proposed hairdo that Lita had shown her. She was going to give Greg the best surprise of his life, and then she would show her mother exactly the nature of the feelings that the two of them had for each other. Then… then she hoped to sneak back to Greg's apartment with her boyfriend. His businessman father was out of the country right now, and his mother was with him, so Amy hoped to enjoy more than a dance Wednesday night…

Yo! Sailor Moon to Sailor Mercury! Are you still on the right planet, Amy-chan? Amy nearly crashed into a skyscraper when Serena's telepathic voice suddenly intruded into her consciousness. Amy turned to see the other four Inner Senshi hovering in the middle distance. She had been so phased out with thinking about the dance and her plans for afterwards that she had missed a turn. What made that humiliation worse was the little hovering knots that were Mina and Serena, both of whom were bent double with laughter.

A chagrined Sailor Mercury rejoined the formation and the five friends set off again. Looking forwards to the dance? Serena asked. The cool blue-white reassuring presence of Amy's leader and future queen had not retreated from her mind yet. Amy nodded gently, not sure whether she was glad or upset that Serena could interpret her moods so easily. I am too, Serena continued. So, I guess I'll see you there? 

Amy's mouth opened wide and she closed it again before she ingested too many insects. She forgot that Darien was now in his first year at medical school and that, as such, he could attend the ball too. Well, having Serena there was a good thing or a bad thing depending on your view of the blonde-haired young woman. "I think I will enjoy a good party," she said aloud, something that seemed to cover everything she wanted to say right now.

***

Amy used the latchkey that Greg's folks had given her to gain entrance to the uptown apartment where her boyfriend lived most of the time (when not at his grandparents' house in Kobe). The house was disturbingly quiet. "Greg?" she called. "Greg-chan? Are you here?" The alarm wasn't set, so he had to be here.

"Amy… I'm… I'm upstairs…" that congested statement was followed by the loudest sneeze that Amy had ever heard. 

Amy went up to Greg's bedroom (familiar enough turf for one reason or another) and saw her lover lying on a very messy bed, surrounded by used tissues. "Stay back," he groaned. "I… might be…" yet another loud sneeze. "I might be contagious." Poor Greg looked like hell. He had black rings around his eyes and his skin was flushed. Worse, his nose was bright red from repeated blowing and wipes from a tissue.

"Oh, my poor Greg-chan," Amy sighed. She shook her head and slipped over to 'professional' mode, the healer that was part of her nature as Sailor Mercury coming to the fore. She quickly arranged the bedspread to cover a peevish Greg, opened the windows to improve the oxygen levels in the room and gave him one of her diagnostic touches. He was hot, but far from feverish. "My poor baby," she chuckled. "Struck down in your prime."

"Amy…" Greg tried to repeat his warning.

"Don't worry, Greg, the common cold is only contagious before the main symptoms emerge," she said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Now, why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?"

"Didn't want to bother you," he moaned. "I feel bad enough as it is. I've dodged Youma and helped fight Negaverse Generals. I've had a bit of the Silver Imperium Crystal implanted in me, and found the girl of my dreams. After all that I've… I've… AH-CHOO! I've been laid low by a stupid Rhinovirus! I feel like an idiot!"

Amy shook her head trying not to laugh. "Poor Greg-chan," she sighed. "When did the symptoms start?"

"First thing this morning," Greg groaned.

"Oh no, Greg!" Amy cried when she realised what that meant.

"Yeah… Three days to clear! I'll miss the Ball," he sighed. "Amy, I'm so very sorry."

"Poor thing," Amy said, shaking her head. "It isn't your fault." For a brief moment, she considered transforming and using the Caduceus Wand to heal her boyfriend immediately. However, this was one of the 'abuses' that Luna and Artemis were always rattling on about. Besides, she knew that some things just had to be endured. When he recovered, Greg would be permanently immune to this disease for the rest of his life. Of course, by next year it would have mutated into a completely different strain and he would have to go through it all over again. Sometimes she wished that she could spread around that the total immunity to disease that came with her powers.

Amy spent a lot of that evening with Greg, dosing him with various cold remedies, trying to cheer him up a little and monitoring his condition and progress as best as she could. She even made him a soup that her maternal grandmother swore could cure the heaviest of colds. With his breathing far easier, thanks to a vapour rub Amy bought from the local pharmacy, he slipped into a deep sleep as his body continued to fight the pernicious respiratory virus.

On a whim, she kissed him on the cheek before leaving him to his rest. She was pleased to note that the contact made him smile gently in his sleep.

She was a little depressed as she took the bus back to her home. She had been so looking forwards to spending Wednesday night with Greg. However, she was still stuck with joining her mother at the Ball. She decided that she would make the best she could of the situation. Hey, if worse came to worse, she could always try and listen in to the consultants talking and see if she could pick up some information about the frontiers of medicine and surgery!

***

"Guys, I can get dressed without help you know," Amy complained peevishly. "I mastered that when I was… oh, about three years old."

To Amy's frustration, the only result that her protest earned was a girlish giggle from Mina, while Lita tightened her grip on Amy's shoulder. "Hold still, Amy-chan," Lita hissed. "You don't want the artist to spoil her work, do you?"

Amy rolled her eyes and tried to sit still. She had second thoughts about her friends' assistance when Lita started cutting away some of her hair, and when Mina switched from dressing her to doing makeup, she felt even worse. Suddenly, Mina stood back. "There, it's done," she whispered reverently.

"Same here," Lita said. "Are you ready for the great unveiling?"

Amy didn't know the answer to that, but she stood in front of the covered mirror and fretted while Mina and Lita took their sweet time removing the dustsheet. "Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages," Mina said. "I have the greatest of pleasure in introducing to you: Amy Anderson, mark two!" She swept the dustsheet off and Amy gaped at the stranger in the mirror. The dress was more-or-less as expected, but looking at it in the dress shop had failed to reveal how it hugged her body's slim lines, transforming her from 'short' to 'petite.' Then there was the hairdo. Lita had cut Amy's hair very close up the back to the top and had swept the rest of her hair forwards over Amy's head in a wave that ended with a spiky fringe. There were also bangs curling down in front of her ears. The makeup job had added about three years to Amy's normally girlish face. "So, what do you think?" Mina asked eagerly.

"I… feel…" Amy ran out of words for a moment. "I feel pretty. Thanks, you two!"

At that moment, Amy's mother, in a slightly more formal ball gown, walked into Amy's bedroom. "Amy, are you ready…? Oh my!" Amy smiled and winked at Mina who covered her grin. That was _exactly_ the response that they had hoped to get from Amy's mother. Helen waved her right hand for a bit before remembering what she wanted to say. "James is here to drive us to the Ballroom," she said at last. "Thank you for your help, Mina and Lita."

"Have fun!" Mina called as the two friends walked away from the Anderson house.

***

"Doctor Helen Anderson and Miss Amy Anderson," the herald announced as Amy and her mother entered the elegant ballroom attached to the Juubian University campus. Almost immediately, James Unwin walked over to them.

"Helen, it's good to see you," he said. Then, with an air of great daring, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, making her colour slightly. Then he turned to look at Amy. "It's good to see you too, Amy. I'm sorry that your friend isn't feeling too well."

"Yeah, well it's just one of those things," Amy sighed. She looked around the ballroom, noting the tables of royal-level food. The lighting was concentrated on the sides, with the centre of the room clear of all obstructions and at a reduced light level for dancing. _Hey, I'm sixteen!_ she suddenly thought. _Maybe I'll get my first taste of champagne! _Given her mother's views on alcohol, this was unlikely, but a girl can dream, can't she?

"Never mind, Amy," James was saying. "There a lots of young students here who would be glad to dance with a pretty young lady like you." Amy tried to smile, but that thought didn't really appeal to her.

"Mr. Darien Shields and Ms. Serena Thompson!" the herald announced. Amy turned and looked as Darien and Serena entered and felt her mouth open in surprise.

Darien was in a fine tuxedo, with creases so sharp that Amy suspected that they could be used as weapons. Serena had let her hair out of her usual style and it cascaded down her back like a golden river. She was wearing the most sumptuous silver-white dress that Amy had ever seen, one that seemed to flow around her as if it were made of mercury. _Where did she get that dress?_ Amy asked herself. _Did she create that with her Disguise Pen?_ Serena's make up was perfect (and Amy could detect Mina's hand in the look). The girl seemed to glow with a peace and majesty that caught everyone's attention. Darien was not outshone by his date, and every pair of feminine eyes in the room were locked onto his dark, handsome face. In place of a flower, some kind of badge was pinned to his buttonhole, like a starburst of some kind.

"Oh my, is that Ken and Liz Thompson's little girl?" Helen gasped, awe-struck at Serena' appearance. 

Amy wasn't sure that it _was_. Then she saw something that confirmed this. Serena's Moon Brooch was pinned to the top of the bodice of her dress. _Gods!_ Amy thought in a combination of disgust and admiration. _Only those two would dare come to a public function as Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity!_

"Hello, Amy," Serena said, gliding over to her friend. "I'm glad to see you made it, even though I understand Greg isn't feeling well."

"Well, since when do I ever miss a party?" Amy asked.

Serena blinked. "I think that is usually Mina's line," she said thoughtfully.

Amy laughed. "Hey, we all have to let go sometimes."

"Okay, who are you and where is the _real_ Amy?" Serena asked. The two friends burst into laughter. Yes, it was good to relax for once, Amy decided as she walked over towards the dance floor. She was even willing to ignore the absence of Greg for a night's fun. Of course… she would have to find a partner for the dances that were just beginning. Suddenly, she heard Serena talking behind her. "Darien, I have the strangest feeling…"

"Me too," Darien replied in a grim tone of voice.

Now Amy thought about it, her psychic danger sense was jangling. She had put it down to nerves, but Darien never got nervous in social gatherings… "Hey, Amy! Look at _him_! And he's on his own!" Amy did a double take, coming out of her trance to look at her mother, who was pointing at someone. Across the other side of the dance floor was a young man standing on his own. He was fairly thin, but was clearly not scrawny. He had nearly pure-blond hair, a single sapphire stud in his right ear and a smile that sent shivers down her spine. There was just something… _wrong_ about him. Whatever it was, her usually perceptive mother hadn't noticed it. "Don't just stand there, dear!" Helen said, putting her hands on Amy's shoulders and pushing her daughter towards the strange man. "Seek and kill! He's perfect for the night!"

__

No way! Amy's instincts screamed. Amy surprised her mother by digging in her heels and then backing up a few steps. Amy had never seen that man before, but she _knew_ he was trouble.

Amy! Amy was so tense that she nearly jumped out of her skin when Serena's voice suddenly echoed in her mind. Amy turned to look at Serena and she could see that her friend was looking angrily at the strange man out of the corner of her eye. Amy, that's General Wolfspite! I've faced him a few times before; he's the new top agent of the Negaverse. He's a real nasty customer, so watch yourself. I'm calling all the others. 

Amy swallowed as she immediately realised what had been so _wrong_ about the man's smile. She had seen a similar smile on General Jadeite's face… "Amy what is wrong with you?" Helen asked in some annoyance. "A fine looking single man and you act like he's toxic or something!" The woman sighed. "Look, I think you need a date, if only for tonight. Okay, he isn't Greg, but you should at least _try_! I'll ask him over if you feel nervous about doing it yourself." Helen turned to walk over to Wolfspite and was shocked when her daughter grabbed her arm and yanked her back to her side with nearly inhuman strength. "Amy!" Helen said, too appalled by Amy's ill manners to register the strength that her daughter had just used.

"Mom!" Amy hissed, her face pale and her eyes filled with fear and anger. "Please don't go near him! He's _evil_!"

"Amy, you are being silly," Helen said firmly. "I thought that you were growing up and ready to associate with other adults, but right now you are behaving like… a hysterical child!"

"Please trust me," Amy said, looking into her mother's eyes and trying to communicate urgency and sincerity. "Mom, he is a very bad person. I just know it!"

"What… what are you talking about?" Helen's voice had got very quiet. She had never seen such… _certainty_ in her daughter's eyes. Amy was only 16 while her mother was in her late 30s, yet, suddenly, it was Amy who seemed the older and wiser, perhaps by decades. "Amy…?" she asked uncertainly. "Do you know that man? Has he… hurt you?"

"Not yet," Amy said wryly, "but he would if he could. Mom, please trust me and start moving the guests out of the ballroom. But _stay away_ from him!"

Helen stepped back, uncertain what to do. Suddenly, there was a pestilential wind blowing from somewhere. Crap! We're off! Serena hissed telepathically.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Wolfspite, who was suddenly in his full uniform as a general in the army of the Negaverse, suddenly called out. "If I can have your attention please? I want everyone to stay still and not resist. It will hurt a lot less that way!" Everyone span around to stare at Wolfspite, who was grinning in an evil way. Suddenly about three dozen Youma were in the room. Most were the standard bipedal clawed beasts ('Slashes') that were the Negaverse's foot soldiers. The others were Wraiths; gaseous creatures like ghosts, which were hovering over their commander. 

There was instant panic, which served the Negaverse force's interests well. Youma began darting forwards, grabbing screaming guests, who were all too terrified to offer much resistance. Just when the pandemonium couldn't seem to get much worse, three of the second-storey windows of the ballroom suddenly exploded inwards as Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter burst through them. "Sorry, NegaCreep!" Sailor Mars shouted. "You weren't invited to the party, so it's time for you to go! Fire Soul… _Ignition_!" A fireball appeared in the black-haired woman's hand and she pitched it right at Wolfspite. The dark wizard barely materialised a shield in time to deflect the attack.

"You'll regret interfering, Senshi scum!" he roared. "Wraiths attack!" 

"Jupiter Lightning Wall!" Sailor Jupiter countered, creating a massive electrical barrier that drove the Youma back.

"Venus Crescent Beam!" shouted Sailor Venus, taking one of the monsters out of the game with a powerful orange energy beam. 

"_Nice!_" the creature moaned before it imploded into orange light and vanished.

The air over the partygoers was suddenly filled by a crossfire of elemental energy and dark magic blasts. Amy, Serena and Darien used the opportunity to run for a side room and transform. One Slash got in Darien's way and had a rose in between the eyes for its' trouble. The monster tried to stagger to its' feet, but Serena was already delivering a follow-up attack. She closed her eyes and pressed her forefingers together in front of her face, as if in prayer. The Silver Imperium Crystal appeared on her brooch, shining brightly, and the Youma was suddenly entombed in a crystalline sphere. As the three young people ducked through a side door, Amy had already pulled her Disguise Pen out of a small pouch that Mina had sown into the bodice of her dress.

Within twenty seconds, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Tuxedo Mask exploded through three intact windows and added their power to the Senshi's counter-assault.

Sailor Mercury was in the middle of the fight from the start, slashing out with the Mercury Soul Blade whenever a Youma got close enough and using ranged elemental attacks at all other times. Suddenly, she saw something that froze her heart. A Wraith grabbed her mother and lifted her off the ground, cackling in glee. "No! Mom!" Sailor Mercury screamed. She darted towards the Wraith raising her left hand. "Ice Eruption!" she shouted. A bit of the ballroom floor exploded open and a column of ice shot upwards, striking the Wraith and knocking it tumbling away. The impact loosened its' grip on Helen and Sailor Mercury was able to grab her and lower her to the ground.

"Th… Thank you, Sailor Mercury," Amy's mother whispered, too stunned by terror and too drained by the Youma's touch to think clearly as the small Senshi lowered her to the ground beside the quickly-crumbling ice attack. "My little girl… please find my little girl…"

Screaming like a banshee, the Wraith swung around and charged at Sailor Mercury, determined to reclaim its' prize. Amy jumped in front of her mother and prepared to attack. "Mercury Ice Bolt!" Sailor Mercury declared, her left arm outstretched. A beam of blue-white ice elemental energy spat from the warrior's outstretched hand and impaled the gaseous creature through the chest. The creature froze solid in an instant and fell to the ground, shattering into ten thousand slivers of ice when it did so.

Mercury grinned in a feral way, too wrapped up in battle-fever to be aware of anything but finding another target. She launched herself forwards into the battle again. Helen, however, couldn't stop staring at her saviour. She seemed frozen in place.

Wolfspite had backed off to allow his Youma to fight, but he could see that the battle wasn't going well. As he watched, Sailor Moon dispatched a Slash with a Love Spiral attack as Sailor Mars toasted several others with her Martian Firestorm attack. He decided that he would have to call in heavier troops. He turned and looked at the table of food near him, noting the silver dinnerware with an evil smile. "Well, it is only appropriate, as this is a hospital social function," he murmured to himself. He reached out with his left hand and tendrils of black power stretched from his fingers to encase a selection of razor-sharp steak knives…

"Oh you've got to be kidding," Sailor Mars muttered as a ten-foot-tall monster made entirely of razor-sharp metal edges rose to its' feet, growling dangerously.

"A metal monster?" Sailor Jupiter laughed. "This is going to be too easy! Jupiter Thunderbolt Power!" Two massive lightning bolts jumped from the Champion of Power's gauntlets and slammed into the massive knife-Youma. The blue-white discharge crackled around the creature for a few seconds. Much to the heroes' surprise, the attack had no visible effect. Then the Youma pointed one of its' horrible blade-covered arms at Sailor Jupiter.

"_Slice 'Em!_" it bellowed and discharged the electrical attack back at its' source. Sailor Jupiter went flying and crashed into the back wall… _hard_.

The massive Youma lumbered forwards, lashing out with its' razor-sharp appendages. "Okay, my turn!" Sailor Venus yelled. "Venus Crescent Beam!" The life-energy beam slapped into the creature's centre of volume and reflected off of its' metallic structure. Sailor Venus barely dodged the ricochet, which hit the back wall and blew out a substantial crater.

Wolfspite started laughing. "As you can see, my dears," he mocked, "Slice 'Em is more than able to deflect any of your attacks. This time, the battle is hopeless." With another roar, the monster suddenly unleashed a hail of knives that shot out in every direction. Several struck the Senshi. Direct hits bounced off of their mystical shields, but glancing blows seemed to penetrate and slashed open nasty cuts in both armour and flesh. Wolfspite laughed even harder as he watched the confusion in the ranks of the young heroes.

Sailor Mars, however, wasn't daunted. "Fire Sword Execution!" she roared, launching herself towards the Slice 'Em Youma at her maximum flying acceleration. Her Soul Blade seemed to catch fire as she over-charged it with elemental fire energy. She slammed the sword into the creature's side and the massive heat discharge warped a few of the metal trays that made up the creature's body. 

"_Slice 'Em!_" the Youma growled angrily and lashed out. An expert swordswoman, Sailor Mars easily parried one of the sweeps from the creature's razor-sharp arms, but several other arms came in from other directions and one connected.

"Mars!" Sailor Moon shouted in horror. The red-armoured Senshi went tumbling to the ground with a cry of agony. Sailor Moon dropped to her side and barely held in her nausea at the sight of the deep wound stretching from the older woman's breastbone to her left shoulder. 

"Finish that Senshi brat," Wolfspite shouted in a triumphant tone. The creature unleashed another hail of knives.

Sailor Moon pulled out her Moon Sceptre. "Moon Sceptre Barrier," she cried and a circular energy shield blossomed out from the sceptre. This was five times stronger than her normal shield, enough to easily repel the attack. Responding to this attack on his beloved, Tuxedo Mask threw a single rose, which struck the Youma and sent it staggering backwards a few paces. In the sudden respite, Sailor Moon held the Crescent Moon Wand over Raye's bleeding shoulder and concentrated for a moment. The wound healed up almost instantly, but the Champion of Justice knew from experience that her friend's shoulder would ache for a while.

The Slice 'Em Youma was advancing again. While concentrated attacks from the Senshi could hold it back, it left the other lesser monsters to attack bystanders unopposed. Sailor Moon thought for a moment before realising what the creature's main weakness was. "Wolfspite!" she shouted and threw herself forwards, past the Youma and directly at its' master, the Moon Soul Blade humming with power. Wolfspite raised his hands and erected his most powerful shield just in time to intercept a downward cut that would otherwise have severed his right arm at the shoulder. Even so, Sailor Moon's attack had so much kinetic force that it drove him to his knees.

Amy was thinking fast. The Slice 'Em's metallic body could reflect energy bolts, redistribute heat or electricity and resist kinetic impacts. There seemed to be no way to stop the thing as it lurched around the ball room, lashing out at the flying Senshi with its' razor-sharp arms. Then she remembered a little something from a physics textbook she once read. Specifically, how metals react to sudden changes in temperature. "Sailor Mars!" she shouted. "Hit that thing with everything you've got!"

The Champion of Honour gave her young friend an odd look, but she didn't ask any questions. The Youma was briefly surrounded by a Firestorm attack. There was no immediate effect. "Nothing!" she shouted in frustration.

"Mercury Ice Crystal Storm!" Sailor Mercury cried out as she stretched out her arms in front of her, palms raised. A sub-zero storm of ice crystals shrieked from her hands and swept over the Youma's body, the kinetic force of the attack sending it back a pace. "Now attack again, Mars!"

"What the hell is this supposed to achieve?" Sailor Mars hissed as she launched another Martian Firestorm attack.

"Just trust me and do it!" Sailor Mercury replied in a testy tone of voice. As Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus continued to attack the Wraiths and Slashes, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars launched attack after attack, alternately freezing then super-heating the Slice 'Em Youma. Sailor Mars' eyebrows shot up as she saw the creature's metal body beginning to distort and buckle from the massive repeated thermal expansion and contraction. Its' movements were slowing down and it was making a loud, metallic groaning sound as each successive attack boiled around it.

Wolfspite realised what was happening. "Slice 'Em! Use your Blade Throw to keep Mercury and Mars from attack… aargh!" Sailor Moon's Moon tiara bounced off the man's temple, the sudden release of life energy disrupting his power before the weapon returned to its' mistress's hand. "Sailor bitch, I'll kill you for that!" Wolfspite spat. He reached out with the full dark energy at his disposal, tendrils of black life-stealing force reaching out from the tips of his fingers and curling towards Sailor Moon.

Once, Serena would have panicked, or chosen a defensive counter-move against the attack, but she had learnt her hard lessons over the past few years. The best form of defence against such an assault is _always _to counter-attack. Her Soul Blade made pearly white arcs in the air as she sliced through every tendril, the impact making them shrink back briefly. Wolfspite broke out in a sweat and concentrated, driving more of his dark energy into the tendrils, forcing them to grow again. However, this weakened his own defences, leaving Sailor Moon with an opening that she intended to use. "Moon heart spiral!" The whirling tornado of life energy slammed through the middle of Wolfspite's dark tendrils, making them wither and dissipate, before striking the man in the gut and sending him crashing into a table of food behind him. A large gateau overbalanced and landed on his head.

To one side, the Slice 'Em Youma had ground to a halt, its' component parts buckled into uselessness by thermal effects from the repeated ice and fire attacks. "All together now," Sailor Mars called. "Mars planet power!"

"Mercury planet power!"

"Venus planet power!"

"Jupiter planet power!" Red, ice blue, orange and electric yellow energy bolts spat from the outstretched arms of the four Senshi and struck the immobilised Youma. The elemental energy released by the Senshi flared through its' body, making its' parts loose cohesion. The monster screamed metallically before suddenly disintegrating. Cutlery and various trays and plates fell to the ground, making an impossibly loud clattering noise. 

Wolfspite, who still had chocolate and cream streaming down his face, staggered to his feet, drawing his pulse pistol. "You will pay for this… humiliation!" he growled at Sailor Moon. He fired two quick shots from his gun and, much to his horror, Sailor Moon somehow caught and deflected the blood red energy bolts with her Soul Blade.

"Ever seen Star Wars, NegaCreep?" Sailor Moon asked cheerfully. Wolfspite yelled incoherently and fired again. This time, Sailor Moon's parry sent the energy bolt right back to its' source and the pulse pistol exploded. Wolfspite screamed in agony and fell to his knees, clutching his maimed hand to his chest.

The last Youma vanished, courtesy of Sailor Venus, and silence fell, broken only by the whimpers of wounded bystanders. Sailor Moon, her face expressionless, walked over to the Negaverse general who was whimpering in pain himself as he cradled his horrifically burnt right hand to his chest. "It's over, traitor," she said, suddenly sounding very much the princess. "Your forces are beaten and you can fight no more. Surrender now and you have our word that we will spare your life."

Wolfspite looked up at Serena with hatred boiling in his blue eyes. "I will _never_ surrender to the likes of you, weakling," he hissed. Suddenly he reached out with his left arm and black power jumped from his fingers to the Slash Youma that Serena had trapped earlier. 

The crystal trap exploded and the Youma, mutated by Wolfspite's power into one of the twice-as-big Gore Youma, charged towards the Senshi. "_Gore!_" it roared.

The creature was struck by a rose almost immediately and fell backwards. "Venus Love-me Chain!" Sailor Venus cried, ensnaring the creature's legs with an energy tendril. 

As it fell to its' horny knees, Sailor Jupiter swooped in. "Thunder Spear Execution!" she shouted, launching a nearly solid spear of electrical energy from her right hand. The thunderbolt slammed through the creature's chest and it exploded into yellow light, which imploded upon itself with a puff of ash.

Using the distraction, Wolfspite used the last of his power to create a wormhole and duck through. "No!" Sailor Moon shouted angrily. A Moonlight Beam struck the spot where Wolfspite had been kneeling a second before and blew a substantial crater in the flooring. Sailor Moon hissed angrily and sagged running a hand through her hair in frustration. "_Damn it_, I thought we had him at last."

Tuxedo Mask dropped to the ground next to his true love and hugged her reassuringly. "We'll get him, love, don't worry about that. His luck can't last forever."

"I hope so," Sailor Moon replied, unconsciously biting her nails in her anxiety. "He is the most dangerous of the current lot and he makes me nervous with the stuff he thinks of sometimes. He is too… _cunning_ to leave him running loose."

As Sailor Mercury looked around, she could see some order was returning to the ballroom. Doctors, nurses and medical students were running over to those injured, either by Youma energy draining attacks or by attacks aimed at the Senshi which had missed their target. She walked over to her mother, who was helping a battered and dazed student to his feet. "The touch of a Youma drains a person's bio-electric energy," she said, trying to keep her voice neutral as she considered her mother's dirty face, untidy hair and torn dress. "A… A shot of glucose and a half-litre of intravenous saline solution should help, but all they will need is a good night's rest."

"You are a doctor?" James asked as he ran up to assist Amy's mother.

"No," Sailor Mercury said, and managed a fey smile. "But I _am_ the priestess of Hermes, the ancient god of healing. These things come natural to me!"

Sailor Moon walked up and touched her short friend on the shoulder. "Come on, we'd better be going," she said. Sailor Mercury jumped slightly, looked at her princess in a confused way and then nodded her assent.

Cheers began to echo around the ballroom as the five Inner Senshi, accompanied by Tuxedo Mask, rose into the air and flew through the broken windows and into the night. Okay, Sailor Moon 'said' as soon as they were outside the building. Darien, Amy and I will land nearby and transform back. No one will question where we've been, as half the other guests ran as soon as the Youma appeared. Talk to the rest of you later, but until then, you all did a great job. I'm proud of you all. 

Thanks, I think, Sailor Mars replied stretching her wounded and healed shoulder experimentally.

Get Chad to kiss it better, Sailor Moon suggested with a telepathic giggle, making Sailor Mars blush brightly.

Amy dropped down onto a small grassy knoll underneath some trees. As soon as she was on the ground, she pulled her Disguise Pen out of a convenient subspace pocket and prepared to transform back. Suddenly a familiar voice called out. Her mother. "Sailor Mercury!" she called out.

The Champion of Truth hastily tucked her Disguise Pen out of sight and turned to face her mother as she ran over. "Yes, M… Doctor Anderson? Is there a problem?"

"I…" Helen stopped short and looked at the Sailor Senshi standing before her. She walked right up and, with an air of great daring, stroked the girl's hair, especially the hyper-short back and the spiky wave over the top. "I…" Helen shook her head before continuing. "_Amy_?" Amy's mouth dropped open, and she couldn't think of one thing to say. "Amy, it is you, isn't it? I… I can't see your face clearly, but I know it's you!"

With an act of concentration, Amy deliberately willed away the magical shielding that stopped people from recognising her face. Afterwards, she wasn't able to offer any reason for doing this, other than that something _told_ her that it was right. "It is me, Mom," she said in a shaky tone of voice.

Helen suddenly felt like she couldn't trust her legs anymore. Her knees seemed to turn to liquid, and it was only her daughter's supernatural strength that kept her upright. "When you stopped that monster that grabbed me and then caught me as I fell," she said. "I felt it was you, somehow. I just… knew." She looked up and brushed Amy's hair again, her hand lingering on her daughter's cheek. She began to shiver and felt the abyss of hysteria opening up beneath her.

"Mom… Mom, calm down," Amy said nervously. She pushed her mother down to a sitting position and hugged her tightly, trying to use some of her healing power to stabilise her mother's brainwave patterns. She felt her mother's hands stroking her armour, lingering over the cuts caused by the Slice 'Em Youma's assaults.

"We… we need to get you to the ER," Helen said in a shaky, barely coherent tone of voice. "We have to check those cuts for poisons or venom… and then dress them… and you'll need a Tetanus antibiotic series… and… I…" Helen suddenly burst into tears. "Oh gods, Amy! You could have been killed! Every day for years and years you have been risking death!"

Amy hugged her mother hard. "Shh… It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay Mom, don't worry." When she felt that her mother had regained some measure of control, she released her from her hug and stood up. "Watch this," she said with a mischievous grin. Suddenly, Amy glowed with blue-white light and her injuries disappeared. She enjoyed seeing her mother's gape-mouthed reaction. "I'm the priestess of the god of healing, remember?" she asked with a wink.

"Amy… how did this happen?" Helen asked helplessly. "How… when did this happen to you? _Who_ did this to you?"

"Well, that's a long story," Amy said. "Both in the amount of time it will take to tell, and the time in which it covers. You see, in very many ways, Sailor Mercury is the 'real' me and Amy is the disguise." Helen looked shocked at hearing this. "Come on," Amy said, gesturing to the path that wound through the less well-travelled part of the University campus. "I'll explain as best as I can."

***

The two women walked for seemingly hours that night, as Amy explained about the Silver Millennium, of Beryl's terrible treason and Queen Serenity's brilliant but dangerous plan to restore freedom and order to the Solar System. She explained how, two years ago, Serena contacted her and told her that she knew about her special powers that she had been so carefully hiding. She explained how Luna (who she didn't describe in too much detail) told her about her previous life and trained her to use her powers as one of the Sailor Senshi, one of the Royal Guard of the Silver Millennium. Finally, she described the battles that she had fought and a little about the powers that Hermes had given to her.

"So you've… died?" Helen asked in disbelief as Amy finished her story.

"Died twice and been brainwashed and enslaved once," Amy replied with commendable calm. "Fortunately, Sailor Moon won the war all three times and was able to reverse the damage. She was even able to erase the rest of the world's memories of what happened. But now you know who I am in my spare time… Well, I think you deserve to know the whole truth."

Helen fought hard and managed to hold down the urge to laugh hysterically and never stop. "I suppose that there is no point my forbidding you to do this any more," she said in a numb tone.

"None," Amy said sympathetically. "Mom, you saw those monsters in there tonight. There are _billions_ more where they came from, all waiting to run amok over the face of the Earth. I'm one of just ten people on the planet with the strength and power to stop it from happening." There was a long pause before Amy continued, in a slightly introspective tone. "It is like being a doctor, in many ways," she said. "You have a responsibility to help people and ensure that their lives are as good as they can be."

"You are always careful?" Helen asked hopefully.

"As much as I can be," Amy said. "Sometimes you have to take a risk if the stakes are high."

Helen nodded and closed her eyes. Amy saw a single tear run down her mother's cheek and she reached out to catch it with one of her gauntletted hands. "Don't cry, Mom," she said quietly. "I know how you feel, but this is something that I want to do. It is something that I _have_ to do."

"I know, and I'm proud of you being so brave," Helen said. Mother and daughter hugged again hard. "Just one favour," Helen said quietly. "Try not to die again. Next time, your friends might not be able to save you."

"I'm not planning on dying anytime soon," Amy responded with a nervous laugh. "I love you, Mom."

Helen released her little girl from her hug and held her at arm's length before kissing her gently on the cheek. "I love you too, baby," she replied in a shaky tone of voice. After a moment, she felt she could trust her voice again. "We'd better get back to the ballroom before James gets worried," she said. She watched, enthralled, as Amy raised her Disguise Pen and returned to her ball-gown, plain Amy Anderson once more. _No, not 'plain' anything_, Helen corrected herself. _There is nothing plain about my daughter, nothing at all._

As they walked down the path back to the ballroom, Amy took her mother's hand and held on tight. "Well, this has been a night for revealing secrets," Helen said. "First I get to see the Sailor Senshi in action, then I learn that my own daughter is one of them!"

"Yeah, well there are plenty of other secrets to be revealed," Amy replied quietly.

"You mean you and Greg being lovers?" Helen asked in a matter-of-fact tone. "Oh, I've known _that_ for years."

Amy almost fell over. "H… How…?" she gasped. Her mother always handled Amy's medical care herself, might she have seen some physical signs?

"Amy, I'm your doctor, but I'm also your mother," Helen said gently. "There are signs, unmistakable signs, that any good parent would notice. You have changed so much in the last two years. You have become so much more lively and personable. When you are near Greg, you positively glow. I would be stupid not to have noticed. Just… just be careful, okay? There is no such thing as a 'foolproof precaution.'"

"I know, Mom," Amy said quietly. "I'm glad that you understand."

"I have to," Helen replied. "I love you too much not to understand." And she wasn't just talking about Amy and Greg either.

****

End of Chapter 2

Coming soon, Chapter 3 – Mina Love – Sailor Venus


	3. Mina Love - Sailor Venus

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Sailor Moon

A Secret No More – By BenRG

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Legal Disclaimer

Sailor Moon, and all the characters and events therein were created by Naoko Takeuchi. The property is owned by several companies, none of whom have any connection to me. I don't own anything much. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the worldwide web. Any attempt to sue me will merely lead to a clear definition of the word 'penniless.'

****

Author's Notes

OK – This is going to get Kaz mad at me, but I know what I want. 

I have read a lot of Sailor Moon fanfics and suddenly this idea jumped into my head. Work with me here, as I don't know much about the story's continuity or the various characters, I'm playing it by ear based on other authors' works. I'll also be adding some of my own concepts that will violate what I know is established continuity. Don't worry, I know the details are wrong, but I need to add my own 'feel' to the story.

Richard Sharpe, aka 'Orion' is my own creation.

Glen Farthinggale is the creation of 'Sailor Mac,' a fellow fanfiction author. I have tried to contact him/her to get their permission to use their creation but, unfortunately, the email address on their web page no longer exists. Sailor Mac, if you read this and object to me using your character, please email me and I'll try and work something out.

I am using the names 'Alex' for Haruka and 'Heather' for Hotaru because I like them better. Mark Berger originally used these names for these characters in his stories 'The Wedding' and 'Married Life.'

I'm using the dub names because I'm not sure of the 'real' names, and I don't know enough Japanese names to name all the secondary characters. Nonetheless, with the exception of Glen, Richard and Mina, all the main characters are ethnic Japanese living in Tokyo.

****

Censor: PG-13 for safety's sake

Ages, The Senshi: Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are all 16; Raye is 19; Heather is 16; Alex and Michelle are 22; Trista is at least 25,000 years old, but doesn't look a day over 25

Ages, The Planetary Knights: Darien is 21; Glen is 18; Greg is 16; Ken is 16; Richard is 18; Chad is 20

Text in _Italics_ are thoughts;

Text in Triangular Brackets is psychic communication;

****

Chapter 3 – Mina Love – Sailor Venus

Towards the centre of the Tokyo suburb of Juubian is a cluster of middle-class housing. The people who lived here were the cubicle fodder; the professional workers who made most large organisations function. If you were walking through this quiet and unspectacular neighbourhood, you would have seen something very odd: a female form clad in orange body armour dropping out of the sky and land on a second-floor balcony of one semi-detached house.

Sailor Venus looked around to make sure that no one _had_ noticed her land. Once she was certain, she lifted off again and glided over to the windowsill of her bedroom. The window was open, because she left it that way. The Champion of Love glided through the open window and landed next to her bed. Mina drew in a deep breath and then let herself sigh deeply, drawing a shaking hand through her long blonde hair. Then she allowed herself to sit down heavily on her bed.

On Mina's bed were a selection of stuffed animals, and one real (if magical) cat. The cat was Mina's guardian, named Artemis. Despite appearances, Artemis was actually a Lunarian, an intelligent native of the Moon, and was over 25,000 years old. What is more, he had known her before, when she was Princess Minako of Venus during the Silver Millennium. Right now, he was very concerned for the safety of his charge. "Are you okay, Mina?" Artemis asked the young woman who was easily the strongest fighter of the Sailor Senshi. Usually, Mina was a picture of life: vivacious and hyperactive. Right now she looked like she could barely sit up straight.

"Just dead tired, Artemis," Mina replied. "These big productions the new Negaverse agents seem to like putting on just suck away at your energy, even if you don't get hit by a Youma." The young woman sighed before pulling her disguise pen out of a convenient pocket dimension and activating it. There was a sparkling of light and suddenly she was a 16-year-old girl, wearing a pair of ragged jeans and a white tee-shirt with the astrological symbol for Mina's homeworld superimposed on a big pink valentine's heart. Raye said that shirt was silly, but Mina liked it. As always, her hair was tied back with a big red bow.

Artemis sighed and walked over to the exhausted teenager and tried to comfort her, rubbing his cream-coloured head against her arms. "Just remember that you are still winning," he said gently. "The Dark Kingdom hasn't come close to beating the Senshi yet. So long as you keep believing, you will prevail."

Mina laughed and tickled Artemis between the ears, making him purr loudly. "I know, Artie," she said. "But it is getting harder every time. This 'Wolfspite' guy seems to have a personal problem with Serena and that is making him mean."

Artemis' head snapped up. "Wolfspite you say?" he blurted. Mina nodded, her eyes wide and surprised from her guardian's sudden focussed attention. "Now that is a name I haven't heard in a long time," the cat whispered, almost to himself, "a very long time indeed." Suddenly the cat jumped up onto the windowsill. "Mina, I have to talk to Luna and to headquarters about this," he announced. "If I'm right, then this Wolfspite could be even more a threat than you realise!" Before Mina could so much as say a word, he leapt into the tree growing just outside Mina's bedroom window and was away.

"Bye!" Mina said, waving at the spot where her friend had been sitting a few seconds ago. She laughed and walked over to her computer to check her Inbox one last time before she went to bed. She was dog-tired after dusting a round dozen Youma and having to fight that knife-blade nightmare that Wolfspite had summoned. There was a pause as her PC checked her two email accounts for new messages. Like all the Senshi, she had a 'public' email account and a 'private' one, working through a secured mail server that Amy and (shockingly) Serena had set up together in Darien's house. They had all agreed on the necessity of a secure means of electronic communication. Who knew how far the Negaverse's tendrils of influence extended? 

There was a pause before her PC announced: "_You've got mail_." There were a few e-commerce adverts in her normal account, and a single email in her private account. 

Mina's low energy levels suddenly perked up when she saw the originator's ID on the long email. It was from Glen Farthinggale, the twelfth Lord Woodfield, and Mina's boyfriend. "Great! A letter from Glen!" Mina opened the mail and speed-read it as best as she could. When she had finished, her eyes had got very wide. "Oh… boy!" she said at last. "This could go wrong in _so_ many ways…"

Mina lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, as the email still lay open on her PC desktop. The passage in the letter that so distressed her was as follows: "_The good news is that means that we will be in the same country for more than a month for the first time in God knows how long. Unfortunately the bad news is that my mother will be here too. I don't know how to make this sound any better, Mina, so I won't bother. She wants to meet you. I guess after all the times I've written to you and sent gifts to you, she has decided to find out who this mystery girl is. So, be on your best behaviour, Mina my love, for the Farthinggale court arrives in Tokyo this Friday._"

***

It was Thursday evening, and after a horribly boring day at school, Mina was just getting off the bus at the bottom of Cherry Blossom Hill. Above her sat the Shinto shrine run by Ookido Hino, Raye's grandfather and legal guardian since the train accident long ago that clamed her parents' lives. How odd that almost all the Senshi came from abnormal families. She and Serena were the only ones who had parents who were still married, still alive and usually at home.

Mina was on time for the weekly 'Club Meeting' as Raye's fiancée, Chad, insisted on calling the gathering of the Inner Senshi. Eight hours of training, intelligence briefings and special power-focusing meditation awaited the five friends. As daunting as Serena, Lita and Amy found this, Mina loved it. She had been a superhero since the moment her powers first appeared when she was a 12-year old English schoolgirl. Thanks to Artemis' brilliant advice and training, Sailor V had been the protector of the people of London for over a year before her father's work (he was a geologist) meant that he had to move to Japan. Mina had pined after Glen, her school friends and her homeland for several weeks before a girl with dyed blonde hair in ondangos and a _talking_ black cat approached her and Artemis while they were walking in Juubian Municipal Park… From that moment onwards, she had at last known who and what she was. Sailor Venus, the priestess of Aphrodite and the Champion of Love had never looked back.

As Mina walked up the steps and passed under the wooden multi-layered arch, she felt the distinctive psychic imprint of the perimeter defence spells that Raye, Darien and Trista had cast around the shrine. Both Inner and Outer Senshi met here and didn't want to have any unpleasant surprises. Combined with the natural magic of any holy place, they made the Hino Shrine arguably the second safest place on Earth after Trista's hidden fortress somewhere in the South Pacific.

As she crossed the courtyard, Mina passed the sacred pond (a bit like a wishing well to her European upbringing) and remembered to greet the colourful Koi respectfully. Then she angled to the right, away from the shrine buildings to the old storage rooms that the Senshi had equipped to work as their base of operations.

As she entered the building, she was immediately assaulted by the familiar hum of Soul Blades and the electric crash as they met in a sparing battle. Serena (who had beaten her here, wonder of wonders) and Raye were sparring in the centre of the open-plan room, their pearl white and blood red energy blades meeting with bright electric-yellow flashes as they cut and parried. Raye was in nondescript grey sweats while Serena was wearing cut-down short jeans and a white tee shirt with 'My boyfriend went to the Negaverse and all I got was this lousy tee shirt' printed on the front. On the back was the message 'If you're reading this, you are too close.' Mina laughed gently. She could see Darien's odd sense of humour at work there.

Suddenly, Raye lunged forwards with a series of powerful strokes that should have driven Serena back or even knocked her from her feet. Amazingly, the one-time school klutz deflected every blow and launched a series of counter-blows that sent the Champion of Honour reeling back. Serena locked blades with Raye for a moment before twisting slightly in a move that sent Raye's Mars Soul Blade spinning across the room. A low kick swept Raye's feet from under her and Serena landed on her friend, one leg pressed to her chest to pin her down. The point of the humming Moon Soul Blade was almost touching Raye's throat. "Well, Lady Mars?" Serena asked around her gasps of exertion.

Raye swallowed once and then laughed ruefully. "I yield, Highness," she said at last. Immediately the room was filled with applause as Lita, Mina and Amy welcomed their princess' victory. To think that just two-and-a-half years ago Serena could barely run in a straight line without tripping over her own feet! Of course, thirty months of almost continual warfare was enough to teach anyone new skills and greater control over their own actions. Serena stood up, sent her weapon back into its' extra-dimensional pocket and helped Raye to her feet. "Where did you learn that disarming move, Ondango?" Raye asked.

"Darien and I have been practising in our spare time," Serena said, blushing slightly at her friends' approval. "He's taught me quite a few sword moves that I didn't know were possible!"

"Is the sword the only 'weapon' that he's been practising with?" Raye asked, her expression bland.

Mina giggled at the priestess' _double-entendre_. Serena, on the other hand, went bright red in embarrassment and anger. Serena's absolute innocence was one of the most remarkable features of her personality. "Aw… Raye!" she blurted. "You're…"

"So mean," Raye finished for her, even imitating the whining tone Serena always used for that complaint. "Yeah, you keep telling me that, Ondango, but you love me still!" Serena opened and closed her mouth a few times, but she couldn't deny that, so she just scowled and looked away. After sulking for a moment, she turned back and stuck out her tongue at Raye, who reciprocated immediately.

Mina laughed to herself as she watched. Watching their public performance, you would never believe that Serena and Raye were the closest of friends, closer than even family. Mina knew this better than anyone, as the powers that Aphrodite gave her included a special ability that meant she could sense the close, sisterly bond between the priestess and the schoolgirl. She shook her head as the two looked away from each other again, then she walked off to the lockers to change into her training sweats (an old leotard that she used to use for dance practice). 

When she returned, Serena and Raye had forgiven each other and Lita was getting ready for unarmed combat training, using the Senshi's own unique fighting style that combined elements from every martial art from kung fu to tai-chi. From the slightly sinister expression on the brunette cook's face, their limbs were going to be sore tonight. Mina grimaced.

As it turned out, the practice session only lasted about twenty minutes. At that moment, there was an unexpected interruption. "Your Highness! Senshi! The most terrible news!" Everyone stopped in the middle of their exercises to see a panicked Luna climbing through one of the room's skylights, an equally upset Artemis less than a foot behind her.

"W… What is it, Luna?" Serena said, running over to her feline guardian, who was trembling with exertion. "What's going on? The Negaverse haven't launched a full-scale invasion or something have they?" Serena was only half kidding. She had never seen Luna so upset in her life.

"Worse," Artemis said unhappily. "They have resorted out their ultimate weapon, the thing that let them destroy the Silver Millennium."

"Wh… what…?" Serena asked, going deathly pale. The other Senshi looked at each other in horror and disbelief. What were Luna and Artemis talking about? How bad _could_ this get? "What are you two talking about?" Serena said, finally getting control of herself. "What 'weapon' do you mean?"

"You should summon the Outers," Luna replied. "You all need to hear this." Serena nodded and closed her eyes, using her telepathic abilities to summon the other four Sailor Senshi. She decided to summon Darien too. As her prince-in-waiting, he had as much need to hear this as anyone else did.

***

"So what is this all about, Luna?" Alex asked. The tomboyish woman had declined Serena's offer to sit down with the others in a circle around the two feline guardians and had elected to pace around restlessly. "What is so important that you need all ten of us here?"

"Recently, the Negaverse have launched a series of extremely aggressive and dangerous attacks," Luna said. "These attacks have been abnormal in their scale and the visionary tactics and strategies used by the Dark Kingdom forces. There have been assaults on Serena's family and massed attacks on public events. The special Youma that the Negaverse have used in these battles are notable by their level of resistance to your powers."

"So…?" Alex asked, cocking her head suspiciously.

"According to Serena, the Negaverse general directing these assaults is named… 'Wolfspite.'"

There was an immediate and completely unexpected response from Trista Bachelor, AKA Queen Setsuna of Pluto, Sailor Pluto. The tall brunette woman, the only survivor of the Silver Millennium, gasped and jumped to her feet. "No! It can't be!" she almost shouted. "Luna, there has to be some mistake! We haven't heard from him since the fall of the Silver Millennium! I thought that Beryl or maybe Metallia had killed…"

"So did we," Luna said grimly.

"What? What is this about Trista?" Alex almost shouted.

"A nightmare," Trista replied, visibly trembling. "The worst-case scenario come true." Inner and Outer Senshi looked at each other in horror. Trista had always been the most calm and collected of their number. What could possibly affect her in this way?

Luna pulled her miniaturised computer, one like Amy's, from her collar and activated it. "Please sit, everyone." After a moment, Alex and Trista complied. "Serena, please look at this hologram," she commanded. An image of a blond-haired man appeared above the computer. He was notable by the icy beauty of his face and the cruel humour in his eyes. Trista visibly jumped when the image appeared and seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"That's Wolfspite all right," Serena said, shivering slightly. Wolfspite always made her feel vulnerable, but she couldn't figure out why. "The funny thing is that he looks familiar somehow… And not as an enemy."

"That is what I was afraid of," Luna said dryly. "Let me show you another image." The image changed to show Wolfspite again. This time, he seemed younger. The icy precision of his face was gone, as he was laughing about something. His eyes were sparkling with warmth and good humour. "If I were to use the name 'Wolfe,'" Luna said quietly, "would it mean anything to you, Highness?"

Serena looked at the image, but nothing came into her frustratingly blank mind. "I'm sorry, Luna, I can't recall anyone by that name."

Darien suddenly moved closer to Serena and whispered into her ear. "Don't _think_, beloved, _feel_," he instructed quietly. "Clear your mind of the memories of Serena Thompson and let Princess Serenity talk to you."

Serena nodded and, almost instinctively, began to use the meditation forms that Raye had taught her for use whenever she needed the memories of her past life. "I… yes…" Serena said, her voice subtly different. "I _do_ remember… Wolfe… Yes I do… No… _no_… NO…!" Serena jumped to her feet and nearly leapt away from the image. "My brother?" Serena said, sounding horrified, tears streaming down her cheeks. Darien automatically stood and reached out to support her.

Luna nodded and touched a control. The hologram suddenly expanded, now showing the entire image. It was a picture from some kind of informal gathering during the Silver Millennium. Princess Serenity was sitting in Prince Endymion's lap in a comfortable-looking chair. The man that Luna had identified as 'Wolfe' was standing beside them, ruffling Serenity's hair teasingly. He had his other arm around the shoulders of another woman, one so obviously a younger Trista, who was leaning into his embrace happily. All four young people were laughing. "The young man standing in the centre of this image is Prince Wolfe of the Moon," Luna said in a dry, devastated tone of voice. "He is Princess Serenity's older brother." The feline guardian sighed and looked down. "This holograph was recorded by Princess Makoto of Jupiter at a informal gathering when the prince announced his engagement to Princess Setsuna of Pluto."

Trista had, by now, completely collapsed into tears. Only the support of Michelle on one side and Lita on the other side was stopping the dark-haired woman from collapsing to the ground. Everyone was looking from the image, to Serena and then to Trista in horror.

"Why weren't we told that Serenity had a brother?" Raye asked firmly, trying to take some kind of charge of the situation. 

"Because Wolfe, or rather Wolfspite as he is now known, hadn't been seen or heard from since the end of the Silver Millennium," Artemis explained. "We had assumed that Beryl had destroyed him long ago."

"What does a prince of the Moon have to do with Queen Beryl?" Amy asked quietly. She knew the answer. Somehow, _everyone _in this room already knew.

"Because he is the traitor who gave the Negaverse their great victory that darkest day," Trista announced in an emotionless voice. The woman had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Wolfe had turned to the Negaverse, and his treason let Beryl's forces past our defences into the heart of the Silver Palace. When they got that far, we never stood a chance."

"But… why?" Heather asked in horror. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Because he's been turned, of course," Darien said with a shrug. "If Beryl could turn Malachite, Nephrite, Jadeite and Zoicite, she'd certainly be able to turn him."

"That is a kind thing to say," Trista said bitterly. "But she didn't turn my betrothed the way she did your knights, Prince Endymion. Wolfe went to her and joined the forces of the Negaverse _willingly_."

There was a collective gasp from the gathered Senshi. "_Why_?" Mina blurted in horror.

"Because he wanted my throne," Serena rasped. She shook her head and tried to focus her eyes again, which were blurring from tears. "Or rather Serenity's throne. The kingdoms of the Silver Millennium were all matrilineal, as you know," she continued. "The eldest daughter succeeded to a vacant throne. But Wolfe felt he was more suited for the throne than me. His ambition slowly soured his soul bit-by-bit. When Queen Serenity formally announced my… rather Princess Serenity's appointment as heir apparent to the throne, Wolfe protested publicly and bitterly. He refused to accept my mother's decision and… and tried to humiliate me to make the Lunar Council reject the Queen's nomination. When the Queen confronted him, he refused to comply with her decision and apologise for his actions. As punishment, he was stripped of his titles and exiled." Serena could feel Serenity's pain at losing her beloved big brother very clearly and only Darien's reassuring presence stopped her from fainting.

Trista, whose face and voice had taken on the composure of oblivion, took up the tale. "We can only guess what happened next," she said. "All we know for certain is that he went to Queen Beryl and entered her service. The next time any of us saw him was when he returned to the Moon on the eve of the ball that Queen Serenity was holding to celebrate Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion's betrothal. He caused quite a stir, walking into the middle of the Queen's court, wearing his Negaverse uniform!" Trista smiled bitterly. "He told the Queen that he had been given a leave of absence from Beryl's service to attend the ball. He walked right up to Serenity and kissed her, offering her the most sincere-sounding congratulations." Trista licked her lips. "We should have realised what was happening we saw the name on his uniform jacket. Beryl always was a fine judge of character. She _knew_ what Wolfe's motives were for entering her service. That is why she re-named him _Wolfspite_." Trista shook her head. "We were all a little suspicious, but all of us were too glad to see Wolfe back to act on those suspicions. 

"Anyway, the night of the ball came quickly enough. Wolfe seemed to be his old self, joking with Ryo, Endymion, Shinozaki and the other Knights. He even danced with me…!" Trista shivered, remembering the glacial chill that had been emanating from her fiancée all that evening. "Then, shortly before Queen Serenity made the formal announcement of the betrothal, he slipped away. He sabotaged the planetary defences and killed the technicians in the traffic control room, allowing the Negaverse's assault ships to land on the Moon unopposed. Then he led a group of Youma into battle. He… _Wolfspite…_was the first Negaverse general into battle that night." Trista began to cry helplessly. "He effectively has the blood of his own mother and sister with his own hands…"

"I sort of knew already," Serena said at last. "Every time I've met Wolfspite, I have called him 'traitor,' even though I didn't know why."

Luna stayed silent for a long time before speaking again. "General Wolfspite seemed to be torn during the battle," she recalled. "He tried to protect the Queen and his sister. When Jadeite killed Serenity, I clearly heard Wolfspite shout. 'Damn you, you promised!' A pair of Youma dragged him off almost immediately. I had thought him dead, as he had clearly outlived his usefulness and his loyalty to the Negaforce was clearly questionable."

"Beryl had her ways of ensuring loyalty," Darien said quietly, remembering all-too-clearly the torments that _he_ had experienced at the sadistic NegaMoon Queen's hands. "I doubt that there is anything left in him anymore of Prince Wolfe."

"Perhaps," Artemis agreed. "What matters is this. Wolfspite is intimately familiar with all of your powers and fighting styles. As the Moon Knight, he trained alongside your Silver Millennium selves. He knows how you respond to certain threats and how you think. He is the most formidable weapon that the Negaverse could use against you."

Suddenly Serena perked up. "No, it's worse than that," she said with a sudden sensation of dread. "Wolfspite knows that we're almost at the time of change of epochs again. With Beryl, Wiseman and Diamundo dead, along with most of the Negaverse's top generals, he is in the best possible position to take control of the Negaverse's forces and take control of the system when we enter the new Millennium. All he has to do is get his baby sister and her friends out of the way; either dead, or turned to the Dark Side."

There was a long, horrified pause. "Yes, that is it exactly," Luna said in the sudden silence.

***

Mina awoke the next morning, tired and exhausted, even though she had got her usual six hours of sleep, which had suited her perfectly well in the past. It had probably been the strain of the hours of futile brainstorming that had followed Luna and Artemis' stunning revelations regarding their new enemy. Afterwards, everyone had left the Shrine tired and demoralised. No one had come up with a useful strategy for combating this new enemy. Like so many times before, they would simply have to make up their response as events developed.

__

Yeah! We're the team supreme! Mina told herself as she lay in her bed. _We'll beat whatever they throw at us! This guy is no match for us!_ Unfortunately, her words echoed hollowly in her thoughts. She had a dream last night. One of the clearest dreams that she had ever had regarding the Silver Millennium. 

She had been sparring with a blond-haired man who she recognised as Wolfspite. The man had disarmed her easily and knocked her over. He had then pulled her to her feet. Applause had echoed around the room in her dream, and she had heard Serena… no Princess Serenity say something: "Well done, brother. You've beaten all of us now! You really _are_ the best swordsman in the system!"

"Don't you forget it, Baby Sis," Wolfspite had replied. "Thanks for the work-out, Minako."

There was a knock on the door that brought Mina crashing forwards 25 millennia to the here and now. She looked up as her mother walked in. "Mina, come on darling," Nyssa Love said. "You don't want to be late for school." Artemis ran in and jumped on Mina with a loud 'meow.' He began to rub her face, firmly 'in character' as a domestic cat. "See, even Artemis thinks you've been lying in too long," her mother remarked with a chuckle.

"Traitor," Mina hissed at her grinning feline guardian.

***

Friday passed with deadly tedium. All of the Senshi were in a state of high tension and it was something of a disappointment that no massive assault had occurred. 

Finally, Friday evening came and Mina was able to focus on matters that were not so dark. After dressing in a fairly conservative dress and blouse, she took the RTS train to Tokyo International Airport. As she stood in the crowds of people either departing or arriving in her adopted homeland, Mina scanned the 'Arrivals' board carefully. Finally the flight she wanted was announced.

Using every bit of the agility/pursuit training that she had received in her short career as a superheroine, Mina darted through the claustrophobia-inducing crowds to the appropriate boarding gate. Finally, she arrived at her destination. Through wide windows she could see the looming bulk of a British Airways Boeing 747-400 airliner with several boarding and umbilical arms extending from the terminal building to it's side. 

Mina peered over the crowds and saw whom she wanted to see at last as his party left the customs area. "Glen!" she called, waving wildly.

"Mina! Great to see you!" Glen called back in his impeccable upper-class English accent. Mina's boyfriend was wearing his usual perfectly tailored suit. He was not on his own this time, however. He had several suited companions who just about shouted out to Mina that they were lawyer or solicitor types. Then there was the imposing woman in a lavender business suit standing at Glen's side who stared at the blonde child actress with withering scorn and disapproval.

She was Lady Eleanor Farthinggale, Glen's mother. Mina found it strange that she, who had faced demons, extraterrestrials and nightmares from other dimensions, should be afraid of an ordinary human woman. When Mina had confided her fears to Glen, the young man had laughed and told her that it was because his mother was 'an old battleaxe.' Mina didn't agree with his comment at the time. If Lady Farthinggale _was_ a battleaxe, she was a beautifully crafted and perfectly balanced one with an elegant minimum of etching on the axe-head that stopped just short of it's razor-sharp edge. One blow with such a weapon and you would not realise that you had been hit until you tried to look at your watch and realised that your arm wasn't on anymore.

It was also pretty obvious that this dangerous weapon, who loved her only son with the fierce protectiveness of a tigress, disapproved of him having an _actress_ as a girlfriend.

Glen walked over to Mina and the two of them stood for a moment, grinning inanely at each other, Glen simply touching the backs of her hands with his fingers. "I missed you, my love," Glen murmured, making Mina blush slightly. "Did you miss me?"

Mina answered that by throwing herself into Glen's arms, crushing him in a joyful bear hug. "I feel like I've just come to life again," she murmured into his ear.

Behind Glen, the Lady Eleanor looked at her son and his paramour with some surprise. She had seen young Miss Love before, of course. However, those brief sightings, all three or more years ago now, had not communicated the level of passion and emotional dependency that existed between the girl and her son. Her upper-class upbringing naturally disproved of her son becoming involved with a _commoner_, and an actress too, a profession that traditionally held very low position in the view of the British aristocracy. Nonetheless, Eleanor reminded herself, times were changing. The old class distinctions were virtually gone and the concept of 'marrying below yourself' was an anachronism. Her son would choose one _he wanted_ not one that would bring advantage to their noble family. Eleanor cleared her throat and stepped forwards. "Well, Glen," she said quietly, "are you going to introduce me?"

Glen and Mina broke their hug, Mina blushing and Glen running a hand through his hair nervously. "Oh… yes, how amiss of me," he said. "Mother, may I introduce Aramina Roberta Love." Glen had the urge to add 'heir to the Kingdom of Venus, Priestess of Aphrodite and the Champion of Love, Sailor Venus,' but he was too mature to do something so destructively dangerous simply to score a petty point over his over-protective mother. "Mina, this is my mother, the Lady Eleanor of Woodfield."

Mina curtseyed in the appropriate form for a commoner meeting a mid-level member of the aristocracy. "Your Grace, welcome to Tokyo," she said, averting her eyes. When she straightened up again, much to her surprise, Eleanor was offering her hand. Swallowing her nervousness, she grasped the woman's hand and shook. She felt the vital strength in the woman, as well as her disapproval of Mina and concern for Glen.

__

What does she think I am? Mina asked herself angrily, _some kind of gold-digging slut? Does she think I only want Glen for his money? Does she think I will hurt him?_ With a sudden sinking sensation, Mina realised that this was _exactly_ Glen's mother's fear about this relationship. Mina felt dismayed, but she couldn't think of anything that she could say or do to rectify the situation. One of the troubling aspects of this was that her _instinct_, which came from her previous life, Princess Minako of Venus, was simply to love Glen and let that solve the matter. However, the more sophisticated Mina doubted that the simple magic of the Silver Millennium would suffice in the Age of Capricorn.

"My dear," Eleanor said at last, "it is good to finally meet you. I have actually seen you more than once before, although we've never met before. However, I barely recognised you! You have grown tall and… womanly since the last time I saw you." This was totally true. Until Glen had called out to her, she had not recognised Mina. She was no longer simply _pretty_. She had become _beautiful_. _The girl could have any man she chose_, she thought. _How I wish she would chose another._ She sighed and again reminded herself that she was interfering in something that was none of her business. Glen was of age now, and it was _his _choice that mattered. "How have you found life here in Tokyo?" Eleanor asked courteously.

"Oh, just wonderful, Lady Eleanor," Mina said enthusiastically. "I have a good home, fine friends and I have plenty of occupations that I love! The city is so full of life, and learning the Japanese way of life instead of the British one is such a wonderful challenge! I will have to show you around the sights and show you what Tokyo has to offer! I…" Mina suddenly broke off, blushing when she realised that she was babbling in her nervousness and her need to impress this majestic woman. "Anyway, I am happy," she said at last.

Glen, wonderful man that he was, hid his laughter perfectly. Eleanor's sculpted left eyebrow had risen during Mina's babble. "I am glad for you child," she said at last. She turned to her son. "Glen, I do believe that it is time to go to the hotel."

Glen sagged slightly. He had hoped that he could make his escape with Mina immediately. Clearly this was not to be. "Mother…" he began.

"Glen, it's okay," Mina said quietly. "I have to get to the studio anyway," she added more loudly. Although Mina didn't have many acting jobs these days (she simply didn't have the time) she was currently recording scenes for a series of action/adventure TV movies three nights every week. Being an actress _and_ an accredited stuntwoman meant that she saved producers a lot of money. This job was why she had been released early enough from school today to meet Glen.

Glen nodded. "Then I will see you tomorrow evening at the Crown?" he asked.

Mina winked. "I wouldn't miss it," she said. On a whim she leaned forward and captured Glen's lips for a deep, passionate kiss. Glen went bright red, but it was the way his mother's eyes opened wide that Mina appreciated the most. _Let the old bat chew that raw and swallow it!_ she thought.

"Well I never!" Lady Eleanor's private secretary whispered in a scandalised tone of voice, after Mina dashed off.

"Oh, grow up, Marion," Eleanor snapped and led the cavalcade off to where their limousines waited, in a thoroughly foul mood.

***

That night, after returning home from several hours filming, Mina stood in her bedroom. She pulled her Disguise Pen out of its' scabbard up her sleeve and murmured 'Venus power: Make up." There was a flare of orange light and a swirl of hearts and colour. When they cleared, Sailor Venus stood in the centre of the room. The Champion of Love's brows were drawn together in thought. Suddenly she spoke aloud, although she still was alone in her room. "Sailor Pluto, I need to talk to you."

There was an imperceptible pause before a section of the bedroom's wall seemed to ripple out of existence, replaced by a swirling green vortex. Out of that strode Sailor Pluto, Queen of Pluto, High Priestess of Hades, the Champion of Time. "What can I do for you, Sailor Venus?" the brown-haired woman asked pleasantly. "I assume that you haven't called me here simply for a chat."

Mina laughed. "Nah, I would never do that, Trista!" she replied with a lop-sided grin. Trista rolled her eyes. She would be happier if she _were_ confident that Mina wouldn't do anything like that. "Trista, I've been thinking about Wolfspite and how he has threatened Serena's family." Trista shuddered when she heard the new name of her fallen fiancée, but she stayed focussed on her sister Senshi's words. "I think it is possible that he might try to attack our families or close associates… or loves."

Trista nodded. "It is a definite risk," she agreed. "What conclusions have you come to?" 

"I think I can protect my immediate family without too many problems," Mina said. "But I'm worried about Glen and his family. They spend a lot of their time in a different country, one that doesn't have any Senshi to protect them. If Wolfspite were to attack them there…" Trista nodded in understanding, her elegant face pinched with distress at hearing _that_ name. Mina felt bad having to use it, but she had to explain her thoughts clearly. "I was wondering if, among all the stuff you salvaged from the Silver Millennium, there is a weapon that I could let Glen have that he could use to defend himself." Trista's mouth dropped open to form a near perfect 'O' shape. "Trista, he _is_ capable of handling a weapon like that! When I was still Sailor V, I practised with him a lot. He qualified from his High School with top marks in swordsmanship and unarmed combat from their Cadet Corps."

"I… I don't think you appreciate what you're proposing, Mina," Trista protested. "You are suggesting giving a _civilian_ a magical weapon from the Silver Millennium!" The older woman shook her head firmly. "No. Absolutely not. The risks involved…"

"Trista, _please_," Mina responded. "He is the most vulnerable one of all our friends. All the rest live in or around Juubian and we are never far from them, but Glen…" Mina looked into Trista's violet eyes pleadingly, tears beginning to well up in her own sapphire eyes. "Trista, I couldn't possibly live with myself if he were hurt because Wolfspite realised his relationship with me! I'd _die_!" She sighed and shook her head. "There has to be something stand-alone, which doesn't need a Senshi's powers to make it work. Look, Trista, I'm aware of the risk, but that is nothing compared to the risk to him if we… if _I_ leave him exposed!"

Trista groaned and covered her face with one gauntletted hand. Suddenly, she was 25,000 years ago and a 12-year old Princess Setsuna of Pluto was trying to refuse to give a treat to 3-year-old Princess Minako of Venus. Yes, that little girl had exactly the same pleading look, pouting lips and tearful blue eyes that Mina had right now. Trista sighed. She had never been able to refuse that little girl anything then, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to dissuade her from her plan now. Besides, in many ways, it was Mina's right to ask for some of those items. They were the property of the Royal House of Venus, after all, making it _her_ property. "Okay, you'd better come with me," she said at last.

The two Senshi walked through the swirling green vortex of the Time Stream until they reached the Gate of Time, a huge metal circular gate marked with arcane symbols that allowed its' mistress to travel to any place in time and space. As soon as Trista and Mina emerged from the rippling green surface, like a pond tilted on its' side, the Champion of Time deactivated the gate, making the green vortex dissipate like a bubble bursting. Then she pulled an elaborate key out of a pouch on her armour and inserted it into a slightly raised pedestal in the centre of the room and twisted it round in a full circle. With the Gate of Time closed and locked, she could now give her guest her full attention.

No matter how many times that Mina visited Trista's hidden fortress, it never ceased to amaze her. Millennia ago, it was the summer palace of the Royal House of Earth, now it was all that remained of the Silver Millennium. All around were artworks of stunning complexity, only possible in that long-lost time when the humans could live a thousand years. There were also appliances and tools of sublime complexity and efficiency, hybrids of technology and magic that were far superior to anything possible through today's science.

Following the graceful Sailor Pluto, Mina walked through the palace until they arrived at a storeroom with a massive orange metal gate, marked with the seal of the Royal House of Venus. Trista stepped to one side and gestured Mina forwards. "Please put your right hand on the silver disc," Trista instructed. Mina did as she was asked, and the gates of the storeroom swung open with a clean pneumatic hiss.

"The lock is keyed to _my_ palm print?" Mina asked in amazement.

"Of course it is," Trista replied with a broad grin. "After all, all this stuff belongs to you!" She enjoyed watching Mina's eyes bulge out when she heard that.

Trista walked into the storeroom and looked around the mass of magical and non-magical items that she was able to salvage from the Royal Palace on Venus before Sailor Saturn destroyed it 25,000 years ago. There were artworks, records and personal items that she felt that the reincarnation of her gentle friend would value. And, of course, there were the magical weapons forged by Aphrodite, for her champions, Sailor Venus and Venus Knight. "I think that this is what you need," Trista said. When she pulled the item out of its' rack, her concerns and worries about Mina's idea suddenly flowed away. Suddenly, her instincts were telling her that this was the _right _thing to do. Trista sighed. Despite her deep affinity with the Continuum, it never spoke to her in clear or definitive terms. It was times like this, however, that she really wished she could see the _ends_ as clearly as she could see the _means_ of destiny.

Trista turned around and placed what looked like a Roman _gladius_, a short-sword, but with a hilt almost as long as the blade, into Mina's hands. "What is it?" Mina asked. The sword was made in the same orange magical metal that made up several of her own pieces of equipment, mined on Venus, no doubt. It was covered with various etchings, but the most prominent was a valentine heart, whose pointed base pointed up from the hilt to the point of the blade. The astrological symbol for Venus was etched into the centre of the heart.

"This is the Venus Knight's war-blade," Trista explained. "The blade was forged by Aphrodite's husband, the god Hephaistos. It can cut through any non-magical substance and can extend to over double this length. It can also generate energy blasts similar to your Crescent Beam attack and, when held with the blade flat against the outside of the forearm, generates a force shield that can resist most moderate-sized magical attacks." Trista watched as Mina twirled the weapon around professionally before continuing. "It draws its' power directly from the planetary power of Venus itself," she explained. "Theoretically, anyone could use it, although only the Venus Knight himself could use it to its' full potential. His own powers would boost the weapon's power by at least three times."

Mina nodded and smiled happily. "Yes, this is perfect," she said. "Thank you, Trista!" She ran over to hug her friend warmly.

Trista sighed. "It was my pleasure, Mina," she replied. "Just make sure I don't regret doing this, okay?"

***

Glen was very surprised when Mina called him in his hotel room and asked him to meet her on the _roof_ of the hotel. Obviously something was up, because she would never mix Senshi business with personal business.

Glen arrived on the roof to find the helipad deserted. Suddenly, a hand fell on his shoulder. "Hello, my love," Mina said. Glen nearly jumped six feet in the air in his surprise. She had been waiting in the shadow of the stairwell. As Glen had expected, she was wearing her orange body armour with its' pink sash.

"Hello, Mina, I'm glad to see you," he said. The two embraced and exchanged a gentle kiss before Glen looked into his girlfriend's eyes. "What brings you here all ready for action?" he asked, a bit nervous.

Mina drew in a deep breath and then explained the situation as well as she could, the sudden terrible advent of the arch-traitor Wolfspite and the possible threat to Glen and his family. "I can't be there to protect you when you aren't in Japan," she reminded him. "So I have decided that you need the means to protect _yourself_." With that, she pulled out the Venus War Blade, now in its' beautifully tooled Venusian Leather scabbard. "I want you to take this, Glen. Learn to use it well and use it protect yourself and your family from the Negaverse."

Glen's heart nearly stopped and he swallowed nervously as he stared at the (obviously magical) weapon that Sailor Venus was holding out to him. "I… are you sure?" he said at last. "Mina, I am not a warrior or a fighter…"

"Oh don't be silly," Mina said, rolling her eyes. "Glen, you have fought beside _me_ on many occasions without the benefit of a weapon of any kind." That was true, and the memories were slightly embarrassing. Glen felt that, as a gentleman, he shouldn't let anyone try to bully a girl, even when that girl was Sailor V and the bully was a Youma. That led him into a scrape that was way beyond his ability to handle and, indirectly, led him to this place and time. "Glen, you are a good fighter, and I am certain that you can handle this weapon," Mina insisted. She winked at him in a saucy way. "Hey, have I ever led you astray?"

"Time after time, love," Glen replied with a laugh. He shook his head. "Okay, you'd better show me how to use this mystical doodad if you are serious about me using it to defend myself." Mina nodded with approval as Glen took the weapon from her hands. Neither of them noticed that, when Glen wrapped his hand around the War Blade's hilt, the orange opal gem set into the very base of the hilt briefly glowed brightly.

After a long training session on the roof, Glen returned to his room, the blade strapped to his back, hilt-down, so that he could carry it under his coat without anyone seeing it. Exhausted from the training session… indeed more exhausted than he _should_ have been after a simple refresher lesson in kendo and a demonstration of the weapon's other functions, Glen needed a large snack and long sleep. Brushing aside his mother's queries about where he had been for the last few hours, he retreated to his room. There, he placed the Venus War Blade on the chair beside his bed before collapsing to the bed and falling asleep in seconds.

As Glen was sleeping, there was no one to see the Venus War Blade begin to glow orange with planetary magic. There was a flare of light and the weapon flipped off of the chair and dropped to Glen's side, tucking itself against his chest, its hilt tucked into the palm of his right hand, which had curled in front of him as he slept.

***

Saturday evening at the Crown Arcade…

"So, I said to him, 'I will only drive in _that_ jalopy if you are sitting _right next to me_ when I do.'" Laughter greeted the end of Alexandra 'Alex' Tennyson's story.

"That showed him, I'll bet," Darien said with a grin. His good humour was partly due to the outrageous stories that the four Outers were telling, but primarily due to the fact that Serena was sitting at his side, tucked in against his shoulder.

With the sudden new and dangerous threat from the Negaverse, Serena had suggested that it was wise if the two Senshi bands joined forces, if only temporarily, until the threat was dealt with. Trista had agreed at once, hoping that this would end the artificial Inner/Outer division that had once been a grim necessity, but was now weakening the forces of light at a critical time. Serena had also suggested that the nine Senshi should spend more of their free time together. Again, Trista had been enthusiastic in her agreement. Heather had practically jumped for joy at the chance of associating with the Inners, who were all mostly her age. Alex and Michelle had taken some persuading, but now they were at the Crown, enjoying their young friends' company, all their doubts had evaporated like dew on a summer's day. The Inners and Outers hadn't met like this for almost a year, and everyone had a lot of gossip to catch up on.

As well as the nine young women, there were also the young men that they jokingly referred to as their 'knights.' Raye's fiancée Chad, from the Hino Shrine, Amy's young man Greg, Darien (of course), Lita's foster brother Ken, Heather's boyfriend Richard, and Mina's significant other Glen. No Senshi business was discussed, of course. Not only was this a public place, but Ken and Richard (as well as Serena's good friend Molly) didn't know of the women's secret identities. Of all of the men, only Darien knew who that all the other women were also Senshi.

Trista looked at Glen out of the corner of her eye in a concerned way. She could sense the energy signature of the Venus War Blade immediately. What concerned her was that it was clearly integrated into the young man's own aura. That was unexpected. Could Destiny be playing one of her little jokes? It was difficult to tell… "Miss Bachelor?" asked a voice. Trista jumped and saw Andrew Watson, the son of the arcade's owner, standing at her shoulder. "Can I get you something?" he asked. Trista smiled and shook her head. She could only drink so much coffee in a day, after all. As Andrew retreated, Trista had to force herself to look away from him. There was something familiar about him, and she wished she knew what it was… Then she noticed the way that Molly was watching him and shook her head, trying to will away the sense of _Déjà vu_.

Serena, Amy, Lita, Raye and Mina stepped up to the karaoke machine to perform the Eurythmics' '_Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves_,' to shouts of "Get off!" and "Singing lessons! They need tutoring!" None of the young people partying in the Crown Arcade and Internet Café noticed the woman who was standing on the street corner opposite the establishment.

The Lady Eleanor looked on in a combination of disgust and sadness as she watched her son with his friends. None of them were exactly what you would call the ideal companions for a peer of the realm. However, what had really caught her eye was how _relaxed_ her son was in the company of these strange young men and women. At home, amongst those of his class and social set, he always seemed vaguely bored and uncomfortable. Here, among commoners, most of them foreign, he seemed relaxed and at ease. Eleanor wondered if, for the very first time, she was seeing the _real_ Glen in action.

As she looked on, she watched as Glen swept Mina from the stage and began to dance with her, swinging the giggling blonde girl around while the others wolf-whistled and shouted things like: "When's the wedding?" Eleanor suddenly felt wetness on her face. She touched the tear running down her cheek with a profound sense of surprise. She suddenly realised what was so different about Glen. He was _happy_, and that was making her happy. She couldn't recall the last time she felt that. It had to have been before that terrible day when a terrorist's bomb had claimed her husband's life.

As she stood there, watching her son with his… _friends_, yes she had to get used to that fact… she didn't notice the dark saurian shape with glowing red eyes work its' way down the side of a building behind her.

***

As the gathering wore down, the various young people began to pair off. It was a tribute to modern liberal attitudes that no one batted an eyelid as Michelle and Alex sat down together, holding each other's hands and looking into each other's eyes lovingly. 

Suddenly, Mina felt tired. After a day filming on the set of _The Lost World II – Return to the Amazon_ and a late party, she was exhausted. "Glen, I suddenly have the need to get out of here," she whispered to her boyfriend, who was sitting with an arm around her shoulder.

"Suddenly want some privacy?" he asked teasingly.

Mina laughed. "Nah, I just suddenly realised that I am incredibly tired. It has been a long day."

Glen twisted his face into a fair facsimile of lust. "Oh, and here I was hoping that you and I could keep each other entertained until dawn," he whispered into Mina's ear, making her blush brightly. She didn't know if it was the words or his breath blowing past her ear. Either way, she was redder than Raye's armour right now.

"Oh! You…" Mina shook her head, giggling quietly. "You will be the death of me, Glen Farthinggale. You know that I don't want anything like that until we are married!"

__

That made Glen blush. "Uh… yeah," he said. "Well… so long as I stay first in the queue." Glen then yawned. Jet Lag was catching up with him too.

After bidding farewell to their friends, the two young lovers walked out into the street-lamp-lit early night air of Juubian. After a while walking towards Mina's home, Glen decided to continue the thought that Mina had inadvertently raised in the café. "Seriously," Glen said, "I'm going to finish college next year. After that, I've got a junior position waiting for me at one of my father's companies. Have… have you thought about what you are going to do after you finish High School this year?"

Mina thought about that. "Not really," she said at last. "I'm not even sure if I want to go to college. I'm not really the academic type. There are always plenty of secretarial positions for High School graduates. And I can always make a little extra with modelling and acting if I get the chance."

Glen nodded. "Well, maybe I can offer you a different position, Mina," he said gently. "One that I think will suit you just fine." The two teenagers stopped in the middle of the street and Mina looked up into Glen's dark eyes questioningly. Glen drew in a deep breath. He had been thinking long and hard about this matter. His mother was beginning to push him to find a wife and continue the family line. More importantly, the fact that he and Mina were living virtually on opposite sides of the Earth made him fearful that the beautiful girl who haunted all his dreams would find someone else. He had decided that, despite the many risks from her lifestyle and their youth, he had to act. He also had to do so _now_ before his nervousness made him drop the idea. "Mina… how would you like to be the next Lady Woodfield?"

Mina's mouth dropped open and it took her a moment to gather her senses enough to reply. "Glen… Glen, what are you saying?"

Glen drew in a deep breath. _Now or never, my Lord_, he told himself. "Mina, I feel like I've known you forever," he said. "Certainly, I can't remember _ever_ feeling about anyone the way I feel like you. I know that we are both still very young but…" Glen fumbled in the pocket of his leather duster for a moment before pulling out a small box. He knelt before his girlfriend and opened the box revealing a gold ring with a sparkling diamond. "Mina, would you do me the honour of… agreeing to be my Lady? Would you please marry me?"

Mina felt like she would faint. Tears began to run down her face as she looked at the beautiful engagement ring glinting in the moonlight and she began to shiver a little in shock. "Glen… I… I…" she stammered. Mina shook her head, trying to clear it enough to formulate a coherent reply.

Glen misinterpreted the gesture. He sagged a little. "I asked too soon," he said. "Mina, I'm sorry. Please don't hate me. It is just that I love you so much… and I thought you felt the same way. I won't ever embarrass you like this again."

The young Englishman prepared to rise and walk out of the blonde heartbreaker's life forever when Mina dropped to her knees and grabbed his hands _hard_. "Glen, no!" she protested. "Glen, I want this! I want this so much it hurts but…" She shook her head and laughed. "It is just so unexpected! I never thought this day would come!" Mina was laughing and crying at the same time. She tried to hug Glen, but his position made that difficult. "Yes, Glen. Oh, yes, I'll marry you!"

Glen smiled slightly and placed the diamond ring on Mina's left ring finger. "You have just made me the happiest man who has ever lived," he said.

Mina looked at the ring. "I… I don't know how I'm going to tell my parents this," she said. "Let alone my friends!" The two of them stood up and hugged again. "I love you, Glen," Mina said simply.

"I love you, Mina," Glen replied.

Mina and Glen began to exchange the deepest and most loving kiss that they had ever exchanged when they were interrupted by a scream from the other side of the street.

***

Eleanor had been watching this drama with a growing sense of… well; she wasn't too sure _what_ she felt. She was shocked and dismayed to see her son _proposing marriage_ to that… _little girl_. However, the raw joy that seemed to be literally flowing from them as they hugged under the street light amazed her. _They are both little more than children,_ a part of her protested. _Their relationship can't possibly be _that_ serious!_

Or was it? Glen and Mina corresponded once or twice a _week_, thanks to the miracle of electronic mail. He sent gifts to her regularly, and she, despite massively smaller financial resources, did the same for him. He always wore that golden charm bracelet with the two entwined Venus symbols dangling from it that she sent him. Her pictures decorated his rooms at the Manor. And then there was the fact that on every one of the longer school holidays, he travelled to Japan to be with her. An infatuation it might be, but it was also a strong one. 

Eleanor was desperately trying to think of what she should do, if anything, when the huge reptilian _thing_ with dozens of tentacles writhing from its' back, dropped to the ground behind her. One of the green scaly tentacles wrapped around her waist…

***

Glen and Mina broke contact as the massive Youma hauled the silver-haired woman who had been standing in the shadows opposite them into the air by. Despite the darkness and the woman's discreet clothing, Glen recognised her at once. "Mother!" he shouted.

"Stay here, Glen," Mina snapped as she pulled her Disguise Pen out of its' hiding place. "Venus Power! _Make up_!" Glen winced and narrowed his eyes. At night, the light generated by his fiancée's transformation was nearly blinding. 

Sailor Venus leapt across the street with one bound. "Venus Meteor Shower!" she shouted, raising her hands. Pink energy projectiles, all shaped like valentine hearts, shot from her finger tips and shot at the Youma, slicing into its' flesh like energy shuriken. The creature roared in agony and staggered back several steps, still holding Glen's mother in its' coils. "Okay, Scaly," Sailor Venus snapped, "I'm Sailor Venus, the Champion of Love. Your violence and villainy have no place here. In the name of Venus, I will punish you!" _Hey, not bad_, Mina added silently. She had adapted that from Serena's old opening line from when she was first starting out as Sailor Moon.

The creature snarled. "_Reptar!_" it snarled and lashed out with several other tentacles. Sailor Venus drew her Soul Blade and severed the foul pseudopods before they could reach her. Black Ichor spat out from the stumps and the monster roared in pain. The young warrior jumped forward a few paces and swept the blade down towards the creature's squat, dinosaur-like skull, intending to cut it in two. To her surprise, the blade bounced off a surprisingly tough dark magic shield.

"Okay, so you're a tough guy, are you?" she asked. "Let's see how you handle _this_. Venus Power Kiss!" Sailor Venus blew a kiss right at the creature's horrible face and it was blown back about ten yards by the transmitted force of the attack, ripping long furrows in paving with its' lethal-looking claws.

The Youma roared angrily and spat out a cloud of green-black foul-smelling smog that enveloped the Senshi. Sailor Venus tumbled onto her backside, coughing violently. "_Reptar!_" the Youma roared in triumph and reared up onto its' hind legs, preparing to savage the stunned Senshi with its' lethal foreleg claws. At that moment, an orange bolt of energy struck it in the centre of its belly, knocking it onto its side.

With a loud battle cry, half fury and half panic, Glen charged towards the Reptar Youma, waving the Venus War Blade (which had extended to its' full length, approximately four feet long). The Youma lashed out at the human with its' claws, but its' left foreleg was suddenly captured by a Love-me Chain. Sailor Venus had somersaulted back to her feet and was how hauling backwards on the super-strong energy chain to drag the creature off balance. "Get your mother clear!" she hollered.

Glen looked and saw his terrified mother still in the creature's scaly grasp. Changing his posture slightly, he lashed out and severed the tentacle holding her with one blow. He then caught his mother as she tumbled to the ground. "G… Glen?" she asked, disoriented and afraid. The Youma lashed out with its' left hind leg and Glen jumped clear, carrying his mother to safety.

Luna had been on her way home from visiting with Artemis when she felt the unmistakable taint of Dark Kingdom magic. She hurried over to the source, just in time to see Sailor Venus lasso the Youma and Glen rescue his mother. "I don't believe it," she said as she watched the young man wielding the Venus War Blade. Artemis had told her of Mina's risky idea on how to protect Glen, but the _ease_ with which he was using the weapon caught Luna's attention. "Can it really be…?"

Sailor Venus released the Youma from the Love-me Chain with a disgusted growl, unable to pull the low-slung creature off its' feet. "Okay, we do this the old-fashioned way," she snapped, extending her right arm, her outstretched hand pointing at the monster. "Crescent Beam!" she shouted. An orange energy beam slammed into the creature's shields, making it bellow in agony. The creature was visibly weaker from its' wounds and the continual attacks. "Ha! That showed you! Now to finish this! Venus Soul Blade Ex…"

At that moment, the Youma spat something black and tar-like in Sailor Venus' eyes. The young woman screamed in agony and fell onto her backside, clawing at her suddenly blinded eyes. "Mina!" Glen screamed. Luna, who had jumped unnoticed to the young man's side, saw the opal in the War Blade's hilt glow brightly when he cried out to his fiancée. Seeing the magical weapon react to Glen's distress decided Luna as to her next move. It would only react that way to one person in the entire universe. The young man raised the weapon and prepared to charge.

"Young man! Wait!" Luna cried. Glen turned around and, much to his surprise, saw Serena's cat looking at him. "You can't rush into battle unprepared," Luna said. "Do exactly as I say and you will be able to help Sailor Venus."

Glen's jaw dropped open. "You… you can talk?" he blurted. _Why am I surprised?_ he asked himself. _Artemis can talk, after all. Wait a minute, this means that Serena must…_

"I will explain later," Luna said. "For now, just do as I say. Raise the Venus War Blade above your head and say: 'Venus Power' and then 'Guardian.'" Glen stared at the feline guardian, still in shock. On the other side of the street, a blinded Sailor Venus was desperately trying to hold off the Youma, but her energy shield didn't look like it could take much more of the demon's dark energy assaults. "Just _do it_!" Luna snapped.

Glen, feeling like he was in a dream, did as he was commanded. "Venus Power! _Guardian_!" There was an infinitesimal pause before ribbons of energy poured down from the War Blade, which was suddenly shining like an orange sun. When the light faded, Glen was wearing orange, body-hugging armour similar to Mina's in most respects, other than it was clearly designed for the male form. Instead of a sash, he had a loincloth in pink chiffon with the astrological symbol for Venus picked out in darker thread. Glen looked at his armour in shock. "No way!" he muttered.

"Now, Venus Knight! Go to your love's aid!" Luna cried out.

Responding automatically to Luna's commanding tone of voice, Glen strode forward, suddenly faster and stronger than he had ever been before. The Youma was very shocked when the War Blade suddenly punched through its' flank, deep into its' chest. It shrieked in unholy agony and turned to face its' new attacker. It spat dark venom at the interloper, but Glen reacted with instinctive speed. He reversed his weapon, letting the blade lie flat against his arm. Immediately a heart-shaped energy shield appeared, centred on the join between hilt and blade, and deflected the attack. In one smooth move, Glen swept the blade forwards again and sliced open a massive bleeding cut along the monster's flank. Continuing to parry the occasional slash from the Youma's claws, Glen proceeded to virtually flay the demon with his deadly weapon.

Finally, the Youma tumbled onto its' side, clearly very weak. Luna ran over. "Well done, Venus Knight," the feline guardian said to the shocked young man. "Now, the time has come to finish this. Please drive the War Blade into the creature's chest and say: 'Venus War Blade Execution." Glen shook his head in shock and complied. Within moments, the monster was a fading orange glow, which quickly vanished forever. 

There was a long silence in the quiet suburban street. As Glen relaxed, he suddenly de-transformed. Sliding his weapon into its' scabbard, he ran over to where Mina was clutching her face, weeping silently in pain. "Mina! Are you okay? Please, God, be okay!"

"I… I can't see…" Mina sniffled. Glen hugged her tightly.

"May I see your eyes, please Aramina?" Luna asked. Mina uncovered her face and Luna walked over and looked into Mina's face in concern. Finally, the feline guardian sighed in relief. "It is only reptile venom," she said. "Wash it out with cold water, and your eyesight will return without any further trouble. Do you think you can teleport to your bedroom?" Mina nodded silently. "Good, Artemis is there, and he will be able to help you."

"There's no need for her to try to teleport, I'll get her home," Glen said, helping Mina to her feet.

"I rather think that someone else needs your attention," Luna said discreetly. Glen looked over his shoulder, and the sight that greeted his eyes made him groan deeply in horror. His mother was standing, staring at her son, Sailor Venus and the… the _talking cat_. Her face was pale with shock, but her eyes were clear and aware.

***

Lady Eleanor had not spoken to anyone the entire night, except to bid Glen good night. She didn't know about her son, but _she _hadn't had a good night at all. Instead, she had paced around the drawing room of her sumptuous hotel suite, thinking hard. Now day had come and she had asked Glen to go and collect Mina and come back to see her at once.

Finally, the door opened and her son and his love entered. Mina was wearing a sober suit in dull colours, obviously trying to portray maturity. In the cold, hard light of day, Eleanor confirmed that the ring on the girl's finger was definitely an engagement ring. She looked at the two teenagers for a moment. "Glen, dear, please leave us for a moment."

Glen looked like he didn't feel safe leaving Mina with his mother, but after a moment, during which he received an almost imperceptible nod of assent from Mina, he turned and left the drawing room. Eleanor tried to focus her thoughts for a moment before gesturing to the sofa. "Sit down, Miss. Love," she said at last. Mina looked rather nervous. By an effort of will, Eleanor managed to smile and make her voice far less harsh. "Please, dear," she said. "We must talk."

Mina swallowed and sat down, her hands pressed hard against her legs. Eleanor sat down next to her. Suddenly, she took the girl's left hand and looked at the ring for a moment before laughing. "Well I never," she said. Mina looked at her strangely. "The ring is new, of course," the matriarch explained, "but the design is old. It is the traditional design our family always uses for engagement rings."

Mina let out a gentle breath. "Well, you know then," she said. There was really nothing else for her to say.

Eleanor nodded. "I know," she said. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to focus her mind. "That is why I called you here, my dear. I won't hide the fact that I hoped that Glen would find a young lady of his own social class, but I know my son's heart well enough to trust his choice. You, however, I must ask something: Do you love my son? Are you willing to bind yourself to him and be faithful to him for the rest of your life? Are you really ready for such a commitment?"

Mina swallowed. "I won't lie," she said. "The thought terrifies me and attracts me all at once. However, I do know this: I love Glen. I can't get him out of my mind for one moment. When I touch him I… I feel more _alive_, as if living without him is only the motions." Mina summoned up all her courage and looked the woman in the eye. "I want to live with him for the rest of my life. As I grow older, things may change, but _that _will never change." Mina didn't add that she had reason to say this. Almost two years ago now, she and the other Inner Senshi were mysteriously taken to the far future, to a palace where their future selves ruled over the Crystal Millennium. There, on the walls of the Great Hall, she had seen formal portraits of them all. Her portrait included Glen and three children. She had never revealed that sight to Glen, but from that moment, she realised that what she had feared was only a teenage infatuation was in fact a bonding of souls, one that would last for centuries. Mina blinked, coming back to the here-and-now. "I love him," she repeated calmly.

"I know," Lady Eleanor said simply. "And I know that he loves you. I would be a poor mother if I didn't know that. However…"

"You wonder if I am the right person for you son," Mina completed for Glen's mother. "My Lady, I can't pretend that I am wealthy or that I know the etiquette of aristocracy. All I know is that I love your son and I will be a faithful wife for as long as I live."

Eleanor wasn't offended by the girl's interruption. The answer was the right one, for the question that the girl had asked for her, but the real question that she wanted answered was quite different. "Actually, dear, I wanted to know something else." Eleanor paused before continuing. "What are your intentions for my son… Sailor Venus?"

There was another long pause. "I'm… sorry?" Mina asked, feeling a bit faint all of a sudden.

"I saw you transform," Eleanor replied. "Last night. The appearance and attack of that monster terrified me, but I had enough wit to see you become Sailor Venus. I also saw that talking cat and…" The woman swallowed before continuing. "I also saw my son transform also. What does all of this mean?"

Mina sucked in a deep breath, her mind reeling. Suddenly, she decided to tell the truth. Even attempting to lie or think up a plausible way to debunk what the woman had seen would be counter-productive. "Very well," she said. "I am Sailor Venus, that is true. However, that doesn't change anything, don't you see? I still love your son, even though I am a part-time superhero." She laughed gently when she realised that she had subconsciously used Lita's way of describing their situation. "Perhaps that will mean that I may not be a conventional wife, but it will not change that I love your son and will try to be a good wife to him."

Eleanor remained silent for a while. "Being a crusading hero, a wife and a mother all at the same time would be most difficult," she said at last.

Mina smiled. "I'm sure that it will, but I think I can manage," she said. _And I will, at least three times._ Mina focused on the noblewoman again and turned to the rest of her question. "As for Glen's powers… I don't pretend to understand that. According to… my _Sensei_ in the ways of a Senshi, Glen is Venus Knight, my counterpart in using the mystical powers of Venus to protect humanity from harm. I don't know how that this came to be the case, but then again, I can't even say that I understand how I came to be Sailor Venus." Mina laughed to herself when she realised how odd that sounded. She thought for a moment before continuing. "According to my teacher, I am the reincarnation of a woman named Minako, who was the previous Sailor Venus. Perhaps Glen has the soul of the last Venus Knight, but I don't know."

Lady Eleanor was nodding gently. "Yes," she said at last. "I've been aware that my son is… special. He knows when people are in trouble and he feels the need to help them. He is much like his father in that respect, but I never dreamed that it would find such an expression." She shook her head and looked at Mina again. "This adds a burden to you, dear. My son is a gentle and kindly soul. He loves life and takes people at their face value. You will have to shield him from taking risks that he cannot handle. You will have to be… his cynicism and caution."

Mina laughed. "He is usually the one who holds _me_ back from taking stupid risks," she said. "Nonetheless, you have my word that he will never go into a fight that he cannot win without me at his side."

Eleanor smiled slightly. She had heard enough. "Glen, dear, come in!" she called, standing up again.

Glen entered and walked over to Mina. The two young lovers held each other's hands and looked at Eleanor worriedly. "What is it, mother?" he asked.

Eleanor walked over. She took Mina's left hand and Glen's right hand and put them together in between them. She smiled slightly when she saw their fingers twine together. "I know that you are betrothed," she announced. "I am willing to give my blessing on one condition. You will wait at least two years, until you know your minds better than you can at this time. If, at that time, you are still both determined to marry, I will not stand in your way." A few unashamed tears ran down the elegant woman's cheeks. "Glen, my darling little boy, I am sure that your father would have approved of your choice. And Ara… And Mina, I am sure that he would have approved of you, as do I."

Suddenly there was a loud bleeping noise. Eleanor was shocked when she realised that it was Mina's wristwatch. Mina grimaced. "Excuse me," she said and turned around. "_What_?" she hissed at her watch. To Eleanor's surprise, a voice replied from the device.

"_Mina, Wolfspite is back, and he's attacking the Little League Baseball finals_," Amy announced. "_Serena got a heads-up because her little brother is there. We're all converging on the stadium now. Get yourself over here._"

"I'm on my way," Mina announced. She looked at Lady Eleanor again. "My Lady…"

"Go dear," the woman said with a slight smile, gesturing to the balcony doors. "And it is 'Eleanor' to you." Mina nodded in gratitude and set off for the doors, wearing a determined expression. Eleanor watched her son for a moment, seeing him fidget and the concern written on her face. "I believe that it would be appropriate for the Venus Knight to make an appearance too, don't you dear?" she asked gently. Glen looked shocked for a moment, before nodding gratefully and rushing to catch up with his fiancée.

Eleanor watched the sudden explosion of orange light as the two young people transformed. She stayed standing by the balcony doors until the two heroes were vanishing orange dots against the city skyline. _After all, where else should the great-grandson of war heroes be but on the front lines of this new war?_ she asked herself. Then she went to the room's TV set and turned on the news, waiting, as many others did, of news of the outcome of the coming battle.

****

The end of Chapter 3

Next time: Chapter 4 – Raye Hino – Sailor Mars 


	4. Raye Hino - Sailor Mars

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Sailor Moon

A Secret No More by BenRG

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Legal Disclaimer

Sailor Moon, and all the characters and events therein were created by Naoko Takeuchi. Several companies, none of whom have any connection to me, own the property. I don't own anything much. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the worldwide web. Any attempt to sue me will merely lead to a clear definition of the word 'penniless.'

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Author's Notes

OK – This is going to get Kaz mad at me, but I know what I want. 

I have read a lot of Sailor Moon fanfics and suddenly this idea jumped into my head. Work with me here, as I don't know much about the story's continuity or the various characters, I'm playing it by ear based on other authors' works. I'll also be adding some of my own concepts that will violate what I know is established continuity. Don't worry, I know the details are wrong, but I need to add my own 'feel' to the story.

Glen Farthinggale is the creation of 'Sailor Mac,' a fellow fanfiction author. I have tried to contact her to get her permission to use her creation but, unfortunately, the email address on her web page no longer exists. Sailor Mac, if you read this and object to me using your character, please email me and I'll try and work something out.

I am using the names 'Alex' for Haruka and 'Heather' for Hotaru because I like them better. Mark Berger originally used these names for these characters in his stories 'The Wedding' and 'Married Life.'

I'm using the dub names because I'm not sure of the 'real' names, and I don't know enough Japanese names to name all the secondary characters. Nonetheless, with the exception of Glen, Richard and Mina, all the main characters are ethnic Japanese living in Tokyo.

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Censor: PG-13 for safety's sake

Ages, The Senshi: Serena, Amy, Mina and Lita are all 16; Raye is 19; Heather is 16; Alex and Michelle are 22; Trista is at least 25,000 years old, but doesn't look a day over 25

Ages, The Planetary Knights: Darien is 21; Glen is 18; Greg is 16; Ken is 16; Richard is 18; Chad is 20

Text in _Italics_ are thoughts;

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Chapter 4 – Raye Hino – Sailor Mars

Raye Hino awoke, as she had done for the six months of her life, with a comforting warm presence wrapped around her. She took a moment between the oblivion of sleep and the activity of wakening to simply relax and enjoy the presence of Chad Cullen, her fiancée. Her grandfather had insisted that the two start sharing a bedroom the moment that they announced their engagement. For all he was a traditionalist, he had a very liberal attitude towards such things. His exact words were: "Raye, at least this way you two will know whether you can stand each other's company _before_ you get married."

The warmth and security she felt was something that was new and welcome in her life. Oh, Grandpa had always been a kind and loving guardian, but until she had met Chad, Raye had never, ever truly felt as if she… _belonged_, even amongst her sister Senshi. Then had come the moment when she had suddenly realised that Darien and Jadeite were just teenage infatuations and that the only man who had captured her heart was the one who had spent every day at her side for two years.

Raye leaned back against Chad's chest, luxuriating in his warm embrace. Then she felt his warm breath tickle her ear as he chuckled. "Are you enjoying yourself, love?" he asked quietly. Raye blushed, glad that he couldn't see his face. She hadn't realised that he was awake too.

"I always enjoy these moments," she said quietly, covering Chad's hands with her own. "You make me feel… _easier_, Chad." Chad chuckled again. Raye smiled and closed her eyes and relaxed for a moment. Then she heard familiar shuffling footsteps outside in the Shrine's residential wing. Her grandfather and guardian, Ookido Hino, was awake. This meant that she had _better_ be up and around in five minutes or less if she wanted to avoid his knowing looks, his gentle, reproving smile and his gruff scolding.

With a deep sigh, Raye extracted herself from Chad's arms and tried to focus her mind on what awaited her this fine spring day in the Juubian district of Tokyo.

***

Since graduating high school last year (she was three years older than the other four Inner Senshi), Raye had been thinking carefully about what she wanted to be in the future. What she would be in the _far_ future was already ordained, of course. She would be the Queen of Mars and one of the inner court of the rulers of the Crystal Kingdom. However, no one knew how long it would be until that time came (except probably Trista and _she_ wasn't talking). So Raye had to think about what she would be in the immediate future. 

In her youth, Raye had dreamed of being an actress and a singer. However, although she could sing fairly well, those early teen fantasies had slowly fallen by the wayside. What Raye liked in her life (except charbroiling NegaGoons) was helping people solve their problems as her grandfather's assistant at the shrine. So she had devoted herself to her studies and the necessary rituals required in order to attain to her own priesthood in the Shinto faith. She had also started in college, majoring in psychology with music as her minor subject. If she was going to be dishing out advice as a career, she might as well be good at it. As for music… well, that would always be a great love of hers, something that Grandpa insisted that she had inherited from her mother, his late daughter-in-law. 

Raye's classes were, by pure chance, all on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday with some on Friday afternoon. Because of that, she could spend the rest of the time at the Shrine, pursuing her other goal and assisting her grandfather in his duties.

As it was a weekday, things were quiet at the Cherry Blossom Hill Shrine. There was the occasional person who wanted a specific service from the Shrine, perhaps a charm for luck in a certain endeavour or a blessing against a run of ill fortune. There was also the usual flock of older people, filling the empty autumn of their lives with supererogatory worship. Grandpa found Raye's services particularly useful with this latter group, as a number of the older women were interested in the still-sprightly septuagenarian widower. So Raye was a useful 'lady filter' sorting out genuine supplicants from those who just wanted to press their case for an alliance. Of course, they all thought that the raven-haired young woman was 'pretty,' and 'cute' and immediately metamorphosed into clucking hens when they saw Raye's engagement ring.

However, Raye managed to find plenty of time to think about her own concerns. Foremost were the events of the great battle at the Little League Stadium yesterday. Although any battle of the forces of the Negaverse was, by definition, dangerous, the presence of Serena's evil brother, Wolfspite turned it into a fierce struggle. Raye was convinced that she would have nightmares about the giant baseball spitting team mascot that Wolfspite conjured up for months, if not years. Once again, the creature had a margin of resistance against their powers, its' padded furry body absorbing the impact energy of attack after attack. Normally, Raye could have incinerated the monster. Unfortunately, the material the animated costume was made from was fire retardant. Finally, Amy had come up with a brainwave and froze it rigid with a wide-area freeze attack called 'Mercury Glaciation Beam.' It was then a simple task for Serena to shatter the nightmare with a well-aimed Moon Sceptre attack.

What had stopped any of the nine Senshi and Tuxedo Mask from being seriously injured was the presence of Glen Farthinggale… no, Raye supposed that she should think of him as 'Venus Knight' now. Wolfspite clearly hadn't expected to face his specific powers, and the young Englishman was able to keep the giant mascot-youma busy with energy blasts from his magical sword until Amy had her big idea. Glen had his moment of glory, and this morning's papers (Chad had bought her one whilst out on his morning errands) were full of the exploits of the eleventh member of Tokyo's own super-team. 

Mina had been absurdly proud of her fiancée (and _that_ revelation caught everyone by surprise). Not that Raye had disapproved, you understand. You only had to look at the way Mina and Glen held onto each other whenever they were together and then at how Sailor Venus and Venus Knight fought side-by-side, to be sure that they were meant to be.

Here was the fact that had really caught Raye's attention and held it. Trista had confirmed that Glen was the inheritor of the Star Seed of the Venus Knight at the time of the fall of the Silver Millennium. According to the Champion of Time, Mina and Glen were 'eternal lovers' much like Serena and Darien in most respects. Amy had already confided in Raye that she suspected that Greg was _her_ special eternal partner because of his growing list of psychic abilities and the way the two of them simply felt _right_ together. Now Raye wondered if she, too, had someone out there waiting for her. Her very own 'Mars Knight,' perhaps…? Two years ago, a lonely Raye Hino would have been off to find him right away. Now, however, she had Chad, and even thinking about the possibility made Raye feel incredibly guilty and unfaithful.

"Hey, beautiful," said a familiar voice as an arm curled around Raye's waist. Only the intense mental and emotional disciplines of Senshi training prevented Raye from converting her surprise at being interrupted in her introspection into a karate throw.

"Oh! Chad!" Raye turned around and smiled at him, quickly shoving her thoughts off into a small box at the back of her mind. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, just being there is fine by me," Chad said with his usual gentle grin, tightening his hug a little.

"Chad!" Raye added, going slightly red in embarrassment. She patted his linked hands in an attempt to make him release her. "Come on, love, I'm 'on duty.'"

Chad laughed and stepped back, bowing slightly in acknowledgement that this wasn't the time or place to play at being lovers. "I thought you'd like to know that I've swept away the dust and leaves out of the courtyard, checked all the electrical equipment for faults, cleaned out the pond and fed the Koi," he told Raye. Chad turned and waved over his shoulder as he walked off. "So, I think I've got an afternoon off."

Raye lunged forward and caught Chad's arm, trying to hold onto her temper. "Oh no you don't," Raye snapped, waving her forefinger under her fiancée's nose in reproof. "I'm on duty until three o'clock, so you can stand around and take the heat with me. Try sorting our stockpiled charms into alphabetical order or something."

Chad shook his head. "It never pays to be a fast worker," he said mournfully.

Raye shrugged and grinned gamely. "Hey, if I didn't find you work to do, you _know_ that Grandpa would!" Raye turned back to her consideration of the shrine for a moment before she realised that Chad hadn't departed on his errand yet. "Seriously, is there anything that you want, Chad?" she asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Chad looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I guess I was thinking about that new guy who helped you and the others out yesterday," he said gently. "Venus Knight, they're all calling him." Chad paused for a long moment. Raye nodded, encouraging him to continue. "He's Mina's boyfriend Glen, isn't he?"

Raye thought long and hard before replying. As Serena had said to her mother in similar circumstances, that wasn't her secret to reveal. On the other hand, Chad knew the secret identities of all the Inner Senshi. He had also made a fair stab at guessing the identities of the Outer Senshi. He had proven his trustworthiness, in everyone's eyes, again and again. "Yes, Chad," she said. "He's Glen. And he's Mina's fiancée, as of Saturday night."

Chad grinned. "I'm glad," he said. "Mina is usually so lonely. She deserves a break in her personal life." The dark-haired young man sobered again and thought deeply. "So that's two pairings where the man is as special as the girl," he said. "Serena and Darien, and now Mina and Glen. It's strange that out of all the people in the world, they found other people have gifts like their own."

Raye smirked. "I don't think it _is_ a coincidence, Chad. The gods have a tendency to guide matters like this."

"Yeah, that's what I'm worried about," Chad replied. Raye looked at him in surprise. "I… I'm not special like Glen or Darien, Raye," he said, sounding upset and nervous. "I'm just an ordinary guy. Do you still want to go through with this? I mean… you might have someone waiting out there for you who is as special as you are. They would make a much better husband for you than I could ever…"

"Hey!" Raye snapped, cutting Chad off mid-flow. "I don't know what you think about me, mister, but I agreed to marry you because I _love_ you." Raye walked over to Chad and started poking him in the belly to emphasise her words. "I _don't_ love some hypothetical 'Mars Knight,' if there is such a person, but _you_. Chad Cullen, who helped a very lonely and wounded little girl learn to love and care again."

Chad raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! I believe you!" he said urgently. Suddenly he felt the need to hug Raye again. She gladly melted into his arms, wanting to reassure him and be reassured herself. "Just… don't give up any chances for me, Raye," he whispered into her long, black hair. "If Mister Right comes along, don't pause, don't think, just run me over on your way to the door."

"I've already met Mister Right," Raye said angrily. "I'm holding onto him right now!"

***

Much reassured by his fiancée's fierce insistence that he was her only love, Chad went about his business. Raye, however, suddenly found herself worrying. This wasn't an unusual state of mind for her, and she considered it a survival skill. If it weren't for her worrying, Serena, Lita and Mina would go charging blindly into the attack against every bit of NegaTrash that the Enemy threw at them without considering the consequences. Suddenly she had to grin slightly. Of course, sometimes it was they, and Amy, who had to hold _her_ back. The ol' Hino temper was a legend.

Raye's moment of humour passed. She was genuinely concerned that Chad might be right. When you consider the probability against Serena meeting Darien and Mina meeting Glen, then it became obvious that some force, call it destiny, karma, fate or Sailor Pluto, was deliberately drawing the pairings of the Silver Millennium together again for the Crystal Millennium. 

So where did that leave her? She loved Chad, of that she had no doubt. However, she was also a being of honour and she was defined by her oath as a Senshi to live and die in Serena's service. What if that meant that she had to leave Chad to accept the love of another man… a 'Mars Knight' for the future good of the entire Crystal Kingdom?

Raye shook her head. _No_, she told herself firmly. _I would never do that to Chad. Never! And Serena would never ask it of me anyway…_ Then, unbidden, memories of 'Jed' came to her mind: The blond-haired, quiet-spoken assistant at the shrine when she first learnt that she was Sailor Mars. In reality, he was Jadeite, general of the Negaverse and a creature of utter evil. Unfortunately, as Raye later found out, during the Silver Millennium he was also Colonel Jadeite of the Royal Guard of Earth, and someone that Princess Rei of Mars had loved deeply before Beryl's dark power had turned him into a servant of evil. And that love had reached through the millennia and had blinded Raye to his evil until it was almost too late.

Raye shuddered. If she were to meet her destined partner, should he exist, what reason did she have to believe that the same powerful bond that made Serena and Darien two halves of one soul would not kick in, making her fall utterly in love with him? Who knows what those imperatives could make her do? Leave Chad? Maybe abandon a young family?

"_No_!" she hissed aloud, fury boiling up in her as she desperately sought out _anything_ to vent her anger on. Raye drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on special meditation forms that would allow her to attain to peace and emotional tranquillity. _Ease down, Raye,_ she counselled herself. _You're working yourself into a knot over wild speculation. You don't _know_ anything. _When her thoughts were more assured, Raye considered the problem. The situation was made doubly frustrating by the fact that she did not know if this hypothetical 'Mars Knight' even existed. She had to find out before she could consider the issue clearly.

There was always one source of guidance that never, ever failed Raye. Before she learnt that she was a Senshi and before she learnt of her power over the element of fire and her many psychic powers, she had always been able to read the Fire. All the members of the Hino family who had entered the priesthood had possessed the gift, and Raye's own special powers had only enhanced that gift to a razor's edge of accuracy.

With sudden determination, she left her place on the steps of the shrine and headed for the small outbuilding where, day and night, the Sacred Fire burnt. She had some heavy questions to ask, so she hoped that the gods had time on their hands.

***

Raye carefully controlled the rate of her breathing and tried her calming meditation form again. She was kneeling before the Sacred Fire and was in the final stages of the necessary ceremonies and prayers to invoke a Fire Reading, but it was difficult to get the necessary focus. She was wrapped up in a paradoxical mix of hope, fear and anticipation. She didn't know what frightened her more, the possibility that the Reading might not work or the possibility that she got the information that she wanted, and that the news was bad. 

Raye drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and cleared her thoughts using the Zen Buddhist method that Lita had taught her, part of the mental disciplines that were required for some of the martial arts that the tall brunette practised. It simply required that she allow each thought to proceed to its' natural conclusion until it could proceed no further. After a few minutes, each rolling, contradictory thought concluded itself and Raye found herself entering the first stage of a Zen meditation trance, her conscious mind free of any thoughts at all. She immediately focused on the fire and began to chant the invocation prayer. "Sacred fire, hear my plea," she concluded in a quiet voice. "Open the veils of time and place and allow me to see the truth."

Raye opened her psionically-enhanced perceptions as wide as she could and stared into the flames. As she did so, she felt her self ebb away and the flames seemed to expand to consumer her consciousness. In the fire was a shape, a clear shape of a man wearing strangely familiar armour. It was blood red, like that the armour she wore as Sailor Mars, but it was cut in a similar form to the armour Glen wore as Venus Knight, including a black loincloth with the astrological symbol for Mars picked out in red thread upon it. _So there _is_ a Mars Knight_, Raye said, not sure if she were relieved or horrified at this revelation.

Frustratingly, the figure's face remained in shadow. Raye felt that she _knew_ the Guardian of Honour and Fire, but she could get no clear sense of his identity. Then the scene shifted to what Raye recognised as a true vision of what was yet to come. She saw something that utterly terrified her. A youma fell before the combined assaults of a Fire Sniper and streams of fire that blasted from the palms of the anonymous man's hands. As she watched, a helpless spectator, another Raye, this one in the armour of Sailor Mars, ran over to Mars Knight and embraced him in joy at their victory, as giddy and ecstatic as Serena always was with Darien at such a time. The two kissed, the other Raye's face suddenly shining with joy and completion as her lips met those of the Mars Knight.

__

No! Raye's mind rebelled at the sight, yet the Fire did not lie. There _was _a Mars Knight, and he _was_ her soul mate, her eternal lover, her destined partner and husband for who knows how many millennia that their powers would allow them to live. Raye felt tears streaming down her cheeks. _Chad, I am so sorry_, she whispered in her mind. Then she focussed on her reading again, desperate for more details of this… _creature_ that was to turn her world upside-down. _Who is he?_ Raye mentally screamed at the frustratingly anonymous image of Mars Knight. _Who is he? His face! A name! Anything!_ In her frustration, Raye lost control of the Fire Reading and the vision broke up into random flames.

__

No! Raye focussed all her mind and her formidable will on the Sacred Flame. _I will not be denied! I will know the truth. I am Raye Hino, Princess Rei of Mars, Priestess of Ares, Champion of Honour and Fire! Sailor Mars, mistress of the flame! I will know! I command you to show me the face of Mars Knight! SHOW ME!_

"_Show me_!" Raye shouted aloud. The Sacred Fire burped out a fireball that spat up the flue, the sudden energy release throwing Raye onto her back.

Raye lay on her back for a long moment, stunned by her vision and by her failure to answer the critical question of the identity of this unknown warrior. Suddenly she heard someone making a 'tut-tut' sound. She blinked in confusion and turned to see her grandfather watching her. On the surface, he seemed a disapproving teacher, but long experience allowed Raye to see the concern and worry in his eyes. "Granddaughter, haven't you listened to anything that I've ever said?" he asked gently. "You cannot command the Sacred Fire or force it to reveal anything. You merely allow it to tell you what it will. The most you can hope for is that the gods will throw you a little of the truths that you seek."

"I… I know, Grandpa," Raye said, pulling herself to her feet and averting her eyes in shame at his seeing her lose her control. "I let my feelings control me because the matter that I was attempting to read was… of great importance to me."

Ookido Hino looked up at Raye for a moment, then reached out to touch her chin and tilt her head back so he could look into her violet eyes. He saw the familiar storms there that he often saw in his dear, departed daughter-in-law's eyes. "You know that the gods do not respond well to selfish requests," he said.

Raye nodded in a jerky fashion. "I know," she repeated. "But Grandpa, I felt that I could justify just one request after all that I have done…" She suddenly closed her mouth, suddenly realising how close that she had come to blurting out that she was Sailor Mars.

Grandpa laughed, misinterpreting her response entirely. "Raye, the gods have assigned you a ministry that they require you perform well," he said. "You can't demand wages for that, only accept whatever blessings that they offer you." Raye blushed deeply in embarrassment, feeling like a first-year novice, caught out in an elementary error. "Was it about Chad?" Her grandfather asked kindly, cupping his beloved granddaughter's cheek in his hand. "Did you wish to see if you would have a long and happy life together?"

"H… Hai…" Raye murmured, trying to escape those wise, grey eyes. She told herself that she wasn't lying. After all, if Mars Knight _did _exist, it would drastically effect her relationship with Chad, maybe even destroy it.

"That is not such a selfish desire," Grandpa said. "Don't fear that you have overstepped your bounds with this request, Raye. Simply remember that you must be _patient_. All things will be revealed in time, and you cannot rush what the gods will and will not reveal."

Raye nodded again, feeling thoroughly humiliated. What made it worse was it was a humiliation of her own making, a depressingly familiar experience. Suddenly a powerful presence screamed in her head. _Evil!_ her danger-sense roared. Suddenly she knew that a youma walked the streets of Tokyo again and she knew where it was. "Raye… Raye, are you all right?" Grandpa asked, looking concerned. Raye suddenly realised that she had phased out for a few seconds as the vision consumed her.

"I'm fine, Grandpa," she said, trying to summon up a reassuring smile. "I guess that messing up that Reading took more out of me than I thought. Uh…" she desperately fumbled for some excuse. "Grandpa, I just remembered that I have to see… er… Trista Bachelor today about the replacement shrine robes that she has ordered for us. I have to go!"

With a single fluid motion, Raye fled from the Sacred Fire room, ran down the stairs and out of the shrine without slowing down once. She hadn't even bothered to change out of her robes!

Ookido Hino watched her go, his eyes narrowed in thought. She was lying to him, of course. He knew that immediately. She had lied to him many times about why she suddenly deserted the shrine at all hours of the day and night. She had lied about where she got a multitude of cuts, bruises, sprains and even, in one case, a broken arm. She had lied about where she had disappeared to for several months last year. The question was _why_? What was her secret that made her do this?

Suddenly, without any conscious intent on his part, he knelt before the Sacred Fire and began the ritual of Fire Reading. What he saw in the flames wasn't as great a surprise as you might expect…

***

As Raye ran down the streets towards the distant site of the attack, she fumbled her communicator from her robes, desperately trying to think who might be able to assist her in the coming battle. Serena, Mina, Lita and Amy were all at school. Darien was at a class in medical school. Alex and Michelle were up in the north of the country, allegedly at a race meeting of the All-Nippon Touring Car Championship, but also checking out rumours of supernatural activity in that area as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Trista was a last resort as her duties rarely allowed her to leave the Gate of Time, besides which Raye didn't really trust Sailor Pluto. The woman had her own agenda, and Raye wasn't convinced that it was compatible with her oath of fealty to Serena. Glen was somewhere in Tokyo, but Raye had no way to contact him. That only left one person, whose school was closed today for teacher training, and was second only to Trista on Raye's list of people to mistrust. Nonetheless…

Raye depressed a control marked with a symbol that looked like a letter 'h' with a cross-bar through the top and the front leg both extended into a curve to the left, the astrological symbol for Saturn. There was a tone that persisted for a few seconds before Heather Thatcher's face appeared on the screen. "What is it, Raye?" the black-haired young woman asked, surprised that one of the Inners should contact her. 

"Youma in the Northern Gateway commercial district," Raye snapped.

Heather was instantly all business. "I'm already on the way," she replied.

Raye nodded and closed her communicator. For all she mistrusted… no _feared_ her powers, the Champion of Destruction and Rebirth, the Priestess of Chronos, Sailor Saturn, was a woman of her word. Raye pulled out her disguise pen and paused in her headlong rush only to utter one brief phrase: "Mars power! _Make up!_" Flames boiled around her, melting away the robes of the priestess Raye Hino and replacing it with the blood-red armour and black chiffon sash of Sailor Mars. There was a blur of motion as the red-garbed meta-human launched herself into the sky, racing at supersonic speed towards the battle.

***

Sailor Mars dropped onto the roof of a small fast food take-away and looked at the creature that the Negaverse had sent to terrorise the people of Tokyo. It was a standard 'Gore' Youma, a twelve-foot tall bipedal mass of tusks, bloodstained white fur and razor-sharp claws. It basically looked like a giant bipedal sloth. The Gore was as tough as a small mountain and almost as intelligent. However, when you are strong enough to rip a battle-tank apart with your bare talons (and Raye had seen a Gore do that once), you didn't need to be intelligent.

Right now, the Youma was standing in the middle of a street, which had emptied of civilians, thanks to the effects of panic, and was roaring loudly. Lying crumpled at its feet were two girls, no more than twelve years old, who were screaming hysterically in panic. 

Mars scowled. She had to act now, or the Youma would drain those two poor innocents of their life energy. _Where the hell is Heather?_ she thought angrily. Suddenly there was a blur of motion to Mars' right. The black-haired woman turned to see a teenage girl with lank black hair and silver-grey eyes, wearing grey armour with a purple sash drop to the roof beside her. "It is about time you got here, Sailor Saturn," Mars snapped.

Saturn raised one of her eyebrows. "It is always nice to be welcome," she replied sarcastically. She pulled what looked like a metal rod off of her left hip and, almost instantly, it trebled in length and generated a scythe-like purple energy blade from one end. The Glave of Silence, arguably the most fearsome weapon carried by any of the Sailor Senshi. She used the planet-killing weapon to gesture at the posturing Youma. "Shall we?" she asked.

Mars scowled for a moment, but looking at the monster and seeing the two terrified girls at its' feet made her forget her doubts about the youngest of the Outer Senshi. Innocents were threatened, and in such circumstances, any who wore the armour of the Royal Guard of the Moon Princess were allies, no matter how reluctantly. "Let's do it," she said, and soared forwards. Saturn took to the air less than a second behind her reluctant partner.

Sailors Mars and Saturn stood before the youma, which boggled at the two brightly-dressed women with its small blood-shot eyes, straining its' minuscule mind to try and understand what it was seeing. A human that didn't run away but instead faced it with calm confidence was something utterly outside of its' instinctive ability to handle. "Stop right there, demon," Sailor Mars proclaimed. "I am Sailor Mars, Champion of Honour and Fire!"

"And I am Sailor Saturn, Champion of Destruction and Rebirth!" Heather added, twirling the Glave of Silence around so that its' humming energy blade was pointed at the youma.

"Your rampage has gone on long enough," Mars continued. "Your villainy will end here! In the name of Mars…"

"And Saturn…"

"We will punish you!" Despite herself, Sailor Mars smiled. She might shout at Serena for her tendency to sometimes make speeches before battles, but she secretly thought it was fun.

"_Gore!_" the youma bellowed at the top of its' car-sized lungs. It opened its' mouth and spat out a rain of what looked like silvery needles. Instantly, the two Senshi jumped in opposite directions, avoiding the venom-laced darts.

Saturn dropped back to the blacktop and slammed the blade of the Glave of Silence into the ground. "Silence Glave Surprise!" she shouted. A massive focussed shock wave rolled from the impact towards the youma, making the ground ripple like disturbed water. When the shock wave reached the youma, the two-tonne monster staggered, suddenly off balance.

"Fire Soul! IGNITION!" Mars shouted, lobbing a fireball at the monster. The magical flame slammed into the creature's face and stuck there like napalm. The youma bellowed in agony and fell backwards. Sensing a possible victory, Mars drew her Soul Blade and prepared to use a decapitating attack to finish the matter. 

Suddenly, the youma jumped to its feet and tore a chunk of tarmac out of the road surface before throwing it at Sailor Mars, who barely dodged the flying lump of rock. Then the monster jumped forwards, standing astride the two terrified girls, clearing intending to use them as shields. "Saturn!" Sailor Mars yelled. The younger Senshi looked over in surprise. "I'll distract it! Get those kids out of here!" Raye barely registered Heather's nod of agreement before she launched herself towards the youma. The creature lashed out with its' horribly clawed forepaws, barely missing the oncoming Senshi. At the last minute, Raye pulled up into a zooming climb and slashed her Soul Blade upward across the creature's chest, making it roar in pain again.

The youma was so focussed on the red-armoured Senshi that it didn't notice Sailor Saturn fly behind it. In a single blur of motion, the grey-armoured Senshi dived through the creature's legs, seized one girl in each arm and flew them several dozen metres down the street. One of them stared up at Sailor Saturn in awe. "You… saved us?" she asked.

Heather grimaced. Sometimes, the 'whatever it takes' attitude that Alex and Michelle used to have made people surprised when an Outer Senshi actually _helped_ someone rather than left them to die. "Uh… yeah. That's right," she replied. Remembering how Mina handled situations like this, she managed to offer the girl an encouraging wink. "Stay here until we've beaten that monster," she advised and leapt back into the battle.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mars was dodging through the air, trying to hit the Gore without being cut in half by its' claws in the process. Suddenly, the creature lunged forwards, leading with its' tusked bullet-shaped head rather than its' long claws. The head-butt slammed her backwards through the plate-glass window of a shop front. Only the semi-permanent protective energy shield that covered her body stopped her from being cut to ribbons by the glass.

"Mars!" she heard Sailor Saturn scream. As Mars staggered to her feet, she saw the younger Senshi shoot towards their adversary, leading with the Glave of Silence. The Youma was preparing to launch a more powerful ranged attack to finish off Sailor Mars when Sailor Saturn drove the blunt end of the Glave of Silence into the small of its' back, completely distracting it from her sister Senshi. The monster jumped around to face her and lashed out with its' claws. 

Still airborne, Saturn dodged back from one wild sweep of the creature's left arm and slashed the Glave down the entire length of the outside of the arm. Dark blood jetted out from the injury and the youma moaned in agony. Saturn dodged under a sweep of the creature's right arm and prepared to use an Entropy Wave attack to finish the youma off. However, she missed the back-sweep from its' left arm. The impact sent her tumbling through the air and she struck the side of one of the tall buildings lining the street. The grey-clad Senshi dropped to the ground and hauled herself to her knees, shaking her head in a stunned way.

She wasn't badly hurt, that Mars could tell immediately, but she was stunned and unprepared as the youma drew itself up to its' full and breathed in, preparing to use Venom Dart again. "Saturn!" Mars cried out. "Leave her alone you _filth_!" Acting on instinct, Mars used her recently discovered 'eternal' attack. "Martian Firestorm… _Incineration_!" A column of flames wider than the youma boiled down from the sky and slammed into the creature, completely encasing it in flame. The creature wailed in agony, but Mars wasn't about to let up. She called her Soul Blade back to her hand and launched herself forwards. With one sweep of her blood-red sword, she cut off the monster's ugly bullet-like head. There was a flash of red light and the youma was suddenly reduced to a double-handful of dust, which blew away on the breeze. "Moon-dusted," Mars said with a satisfied grin.

Mars dropped back to the street, breathing hard. Saturn dropped to her side. "Are you okay, Mars?" she asked quietly in her serious tone of voice.

Raye sucked in a deep breath and looked up at the smaller woman thoughtfully. _She rescued those civilians and deliberately risked herself to protect me_, she thought. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. "Yeah, I'm okay, Saturn," she replied. With clumsy camaraderie, she patted the other woman on the shoulder. "Come on, lets' check on those two girls."

Neither girl was badly hurt, only shaken from their experience. Saturn confirmed that neither had been tainted by Dark Side energy. The two Senshi were about to leave when one of the girls tugged on the end of Sailor Mars' black sash where it hung from her Mars Brooch. "Uh… Sailor Mars?" the girl asked quietly, fear and anticipation in her eyes.

Raye turned around with a sigh and looked back at the girl. "Yeah, kid?" she asked. To her shock, there was naked adoration in the girl's whole facial expression and body posture. 

"You have always been my favourite Senshi," the girl revealed. "Could… could I have your autograph?"

Raye boggled at the girl as she offered the Champion of Honour and Fire a mint copy of the _Sailor Moon Adventures_ manga and a black felt-tip pen. She noted that it was the first issue of the manga that focussed on her rather than Serena's alter ego. Raye didn't know how to react. Much to her annoyance, she could hear Heather giggling. She glared at Sailor Saturn and saw the younger woman try, and fail, to present a sober façade. Raye looked back at the girl and considered her request. _Everyone needs heroes_, she realised. _We're a better example than some drug-taking pop idol or a primadonna sports star._ Suddenly, she felt a lot better and suddenly she realised why Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus both insisted on being such _public_ figures. Finally she smiled at the hopeful girl. "Okay, why not?" she asked.

Taking the black felt-tip pen from the girl, she drew out the Japanese iconographs for 'Pretty Girl Soldier Sailor Mars' on the cover of the manga. Copying Serena's habit in similar situations, she put a little valentine heart in between the iconograph for 'Sailor' and the one for 'Mars.' She turned slightly and decided that revenge, while sweet, was never fattening. "Saturn? Do you want to put your mark on this too?" she asked. 

Heather gulped, but after a moment looking into the girls' pleading eyes she finally relented and signed the manga's front cover too. Then, with a final wave of farewell, the two Senshi took to the skies and flew away. 

As they soared into the air, Raye turned to Heather. "Heather?"

"Yeah Raye?" the younger teenager replied in a slightly nervous tone of voice.

"You did good today," Raye said. "You're showing promise, _and_ you are beginning to figure out what a Senshi's priorities should be. We'll make an Inner of you yet."

Heather laughed. "And you showed the proper aggressive attitude, Raye," she replied. "Maybe we'll make an Outer of _you_ first."

Both young women laughed before waving to each other and splitting up, Raye heading for the Shrine and Heather for Alex and Michelle's mansion.

***

That evening, the three inhabitants of the Hino Shrine were in their living quarters watching the evening news. Raye and Heather's battle didn't even manage to reach the top three stories, which indicated how inured to youma attacks the populace of Tokyo had become over the last two years. However, there _was_ footage of the battle, and Raye felt Chad's arms tighten around her waist when the youma head-butted Sailor Mars through the front of a building. The tape freeze-framed when Sailor Saturn launched her distraction attack and the reporter speculated on whether the Inner Senshi had 'poached' Sailor Saturn from the Outer team. _That comment is going to seriously piss off Alex_, Raye thought.

The video showed the end of the battle and even showed the two Senshi giving the two girls their autographs before flying off. Through her back, Raye felt Chad chuckle and blushed slightly. She was glad that Grandpa wasn't looking in her direction. His sharp, wise eyes would have noticed her discomfort immediately and possibly drawn conclusions. Serena, Amy and Mina might be happy with their cover blown to certain members of their close family, but that didn't meant that Raye liked the idea.

Suddenly, much to everyone's surprise, they heard the distinct sound of wind chimes over the sounds from the TV set, which meant that someone had opened the doors of the main shrine. Although the Shrine was technically open at all times, they were most surprised to have someone visit so late. "I'll check it out," Raye said, rising from her oh-so-comfortable seat with Chad's arms wrapped around her.

As she walked down to the main shine, Raye sighed. With the adrenaline surge of the battle and then the distraction of spending time with the other Inners when they got out of school, Raye had almost forgotten her vision in the Sacred Fire. Almost. She still hadn't figured out what to do, and she was glad that no one had been around to see her burst into tears every time she focussed too closely on the thought of some stranger arriving and taking her away from Chad in the name of destiny.

To her surprise, the person in the shrine was Serena. The blond girl, complete with distinctive ondangos was kneeling before the shrine. From her place by the side door, Raye could see her friend and liege-lady's lips moving in prayer, but she couldn't tell what petition the girl was putting to the gods or to her ancestors. Well, that was as it should be. It was _her_ business and no one else's.

Still, seeing Serena here was unusual, as the girl was hardly the most religious of souls. Still, ever since that nightmarish battle with Sailor Galaxia, three months ago, she had suddenly got a lot more responsible and thoughtful. Losing all your friends and your lover to death twice in two years tended to do that for you. After a moment, Serena stood, bowed respectfully to the shrine and then rang the bell, indicating that she had finished her prayer.

"What brings you to the gods at this hour, Ondango Atama?" Raye asked in a teasing tone of voice.

Serena turned, her blue eyes wide with surprise, and then smiled mysteriously. "Well… let's say that I have a lot to be thankful for tonight," she replied.

Raye puzzled over that for a moment before she spotted the glint of a diamond ring in the dim night lighting of the shrine. The ring was on Serena's left ring finger. With a deep sense of unreality, Raye walked over, took Serena's hand and looked at the ring. The diamond was set in the heart of a silver crescent moon with a golden rose in between the horns of the crescent. "Is… is this what I think it is?" she asked in a shaky tone.

Serena smiled brightly, and it was as if the sun had suddenly come out from behind a cloud. "Darien had been fretting over me being 'too young' ever since the Silver Crystal brought him back to life after the Galaxia incident," she explained. "Then Glen proposed to Mina and he realised that he was worrying about nothing. He… just proposed to me five minutes ago Raye-chan, on a rooftop no less, in his full Tuxedo Mask regalia."

Raye gasped and suddenly was hugging her best friend as tightly as she could. "Oh Sere-chan! This is so wonderful!" she cried out. "Do the others know?"

"I was just about to call them," Serena replied in an uncharacteristically shy tone of voice. "I… I just wanted to thank Mother and everyone else first." Raye knew that Serena was referring to her _first_ mother, Queen Serenity of the Moon, dust for 250 centuries now.

"Well, I'm glad that I was the first to know this time," Raye said, grinning. On a whim she suddenly dropped to one knee and bowed her head. "Highness, may I be the first to congratulate you on this occasion?" she asked respectfully. "I beg of you the honour of conducting the ceremony."

Serena rolled her eyes and gestured impatiently for Raye to stand. She hated overt references to her royal status. When Raye stood up, Serena smiled at her again. "Of course you'll conduct the ceremony," she said. "I was trying to figure out how to ask. Don't fret though, there's no rush. Darien and I have agreed that we have to wait until after he graduates. Neither of us wants to try and make a family when one or both of us are still in college." Raye nodded her agreement, a little startled at how _mature_ Serena suddenly sounded. Then Serena nudged her and was Ondango Atama again. "Hey! It gives _you_ a chance to qualify to the full priesthood before the big day, doesn't it?" The two young women both giggled at that comment. "Still," Serena continued, looking at her ring and grinning mischievously. "At least now everyone knows that he is _mine_."

"Including your parents?" Raye asked mischievously.

"I'm… er… working on that," Serena said as a large sweatdrop appeared at the side of her face.

Raye laughed. "Well, at least _you_ get your man, Ondango," she said.

Serena was many things. She was still something of a klutz when she was distracted or in a hurry. She ate a lot, primarily because she had a very high metabolism and burnt calories like there was no tomorrow, and she would never be the finest student ever to grace Juubian Junior High. However, she was also a born leader and she _knew_ what was in every one of her Senshi's hearts, even Pluto's. There was a hidden meaning in that last statement and she would find out exactly what that was. "What is it, Raye?" she asked quietly. 

"It's nothing," Raye replied, too quickly.

"Raye…" Serena said warningly. Raye stiffened instinctively at the slight hint of reproof in her princess' voice. "Something is bothering you. Don't bother denying it. Come on, let me help you."

Suddenly, Raye broke down. "You can't," she sobbed as her knees gave way. "No one can!"

Serena embraced the weeping novice priestess and held her tightly. "Raye, what has happened? There is nothing wrong with your grandfather or Chad is there?" Serena felt Raye stiffen when she mentioned her friend's fiancée. "What is it? He hasn't… hurt you or anything has he?"

"_No_! No, _never_," Raye sobbed. "It's just that I don't think I can be faithful to him!"

Serena frowned and pulled back to look Raye in the eye. "Raye-chan, what are you talking about? You love him don't you?"

"I do!" Raye admitted. "I love him so much that it hurts when I'm not around him, but…" she bowed her head and let the tears run freely. "But what if there is someone else, Sere? What if there is someone that I am _meant_ to love? Someone like Darien with you or Glen with Mina? I might break Chad's heart and leave him for this new guy! How could I do that to him?" Raye fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands.

Serena's brain went into overdrive as she considered Raye's heartbreak. "Raye-chan, you are afraid that there is a 'Mars Knight,' who is your destined partner, aren't you?" she asked quietly. "You are afraid that the bond between you would tear you away from the man you have chosen, Chad." Raye looked up with tear-reddened eyes and nodded. Serena sucked in a deep breath and dropped to her knees beside Raye. She put an arm around her shoulder and continued in a gentle, reassuring tone of voice. "I don't think you should worry, Raye-chan," she said at last. "You really _do_ love Chad don't you? With all your heart and soul?"

"Yes! Yes of course I do!" Raye replied. "What kind of question is that to ask?"

"Well then, I don't think that this 'Mars Knight,' if he exists, will be a problem," Serena concluded airily. "We've all had crushes, of course: Me with Andrew, you with Jadeite and Darien. However, when we have fallen in _love_, then Destiny has always gone our way. If you really are in love, Raye, then Chad will be the one for you and nothing will take him away from you."

Raye wished that she had Serena's calm, optimistic view of fate and destiny. "But… but… Sere-chan," she stuttered. She sucked in a breath before continuing. "There _is_ a Mars Knight, Serena, I saw him in the fire."

Serena nodded thoughtfully, looking inwards for a moment. "Yes, that makes sense," she said. "Mother seems to have seen to it that all the Senshi and Planetary Knights would be reborn at more-or-less the same time to fight the Negaverse and bring about the Crystal Millennium." She focused on Raye again. "But Raye, Mother would never be so cruel as to allow you to fall in love with someone when you are destined for another." Raye opened her mouth to say something, but Serena interrupted her. "Trust in your heart, Raye-chan," she commanded. "If you truly love Chad, then you are destined for each other, and nothing can break you apart. I truly believe that with all my heart."

Raye sucked in another deep breath and wiped away the last of her tears. "I understand," she said at last. "Thank you, Sere-chan." Raye managed a slight grin. "Hey, isn't it usually me who dishes out the advice?"

Serena smiled. "We're all human, Raye-chan," she said. "We have to bend or we will break. Don't ever feel ashamed to be weak around your friends. It is why we are here, to give you strength when yours fails you." Raye nodded and grasped Serena's hand for a moment, trying to draw in as much of her friend's moral certainty and loving strength as she could. 

Finally, Raye sniffled and stood up, pulling on her façade of irritability and sarcasm again. "So, are you going to sit there all night, Ondango? Or are you going to start spreading around the good news?"

Serena smiled and pulled out her Sailor Communicator. She flipped the device open and pressed the 'All-Call' button.

***

In the early hours, Raye lay on her futon with Chad (now the first outsider to know the true identities of all the Sailor Senshi) as sleep slowly crept up on her. She was thinking back to the activities of the last hours.

The partying in the Senshi meeting hall had gone on into the early hours. Darien had been the butt of several jokes, and Alex had threatened him with an agonisingly slow death if he ever, _ever_ did anything to hurt Serena. Raye remained convinced that the tall blonde woman had a more-than-sisterly affection for her princess. Oh, Serena was totally straight and Alex would rather cut off her own head than betray Michelle's love for her, but Serena was so very easy to love, and Alex had a very, very soft heart underneath all that gruff and soldierly armour plating.

Everyone had congratulated the newly affianced couple, and Mina, noting a compatible timeline, had suggested a double wedding, which made everyone thoughtful. Raye didn't think that was practical. Glen and Mina were both Christians while Serena followed her own Shinto faith and Darien was a _very_ lapsed Buddhist. 

That got everyone onto the subject of ceremonies and a _very_ vocal confrontation between the Senshi as to who would be whose maid of honour (or matron, if Mina had her way). Trista had announced, in her strange certain way, that no one currently in the room would have that honour at Serena's wedding, and had smugly refused to respond to any requests for clarification. Raye was secretly putting her money on Rini, Serena and Darien's yet-to-be-born time-travelling daughter from the 30th Century, while she suspected that Serena was planning to ask Molly, if only to stop the squabbling in between the Senshi.

Trista had then distracted everyone from that question by pulling Serena to her feet and thoughtfully outlining her idea for Serena's wedding gown. "This is the first Planetary Royal Wedding in 25 millennia," she reminded a fuming Serena. "The dress must be appropriate for the nuptials of the heir to the Human Empire."

Serena told the Champion of Time, in no uncertain terms, to back off. It was Serena Elaine Thompson getting married, not Princess Serenity of the Moon. She wanted to have _some_ hint of a normal existence before the coming of the Crystal Millennium. Trista had simply smiled in a way that left Serena fretting whether she would have any normal existence at all. Seeing her distress, everyone was quick to reassure her, even Trista. "You shouldn't make the error of differentiating between 'Serena,' 'Sailor Moon' and 'Serenity,'" she explained. "My dear child, those three people are one and the same person: You. Don't worry about your royal background affecting your having a 'normal' life. Besides, how much of a 'normal' life does a superheroine have anyway?" _That _made everyone laugh.

"It is wonderful, isn't it?" Chad suddenly whispered. "I've never seen Serena and Darien look so happy." The black-haired man hugged Raye a bit tighter and she luxuriated in his touch. "I know that they are going to light up the whole world together."

Raye thought about the time she saw the Crystal Palace of the 30th Century and smiled. "Of that I am certain," she said.

"And I think it was cool that Serena still wanted our wedding to go ahead as soon as possible," Chad continued. "I mean, I understood what Trista said about protocol and it being wrong to get married before your princess." The revelation that Serena was royalty had startled Chad, but much to Raye's pride he had handled it well. "Serena must really love you a lot to let that slide."

Raye felt anguish again. She secretly wondered if Serena was so insistent because she didn't know how long Raye and Chad would have together. "Chad," she said suddenly in a quiet tone. "I want you to promise something for me." She could _feel_ her fiancée's sudden attention. "I want you to remember that you are my first and only true love. No matter what happens, no matter what the future might hold, no matter what I may ever _say_, I love you and you alone."

Chad was startled and didn't hide it. "What is going on, Raye?" he asked. "You aren't… you aren't going to die on me again are you?"

"No," Raye replied. She turned around and hugged Chad. "Listen to me," she said. "I learnt something today… Well, sometimes Destiny can be a perverse thing. I don't know how long we may have together. I hope that it will be the rest of our lives, but…"

Chad hugged Raye tightly. "Hey," he said. "I trust you and I love you. I know that you would _never _deliberately hurt someone that you love."

Raye hugged him closer, needing his strength and certainty. _That is what Serena meant_, she suddenly decided. _Don't be afraid to be weak, or to need someone. Trust in destiny and in the power of love._ Raye looked up into Chad's eyes and suddenly needed him more than she ever had before. "Chad… make love to me," she asked quietly. Chad smiled warmly and they kissed.

After a period of the most frenetic and joyful activity, the two lovers drifted off into a peaceful slumber, all questions of destiny and the future temporarily forgotten. And in the case of Chad Cullen, his dreams were filled with uncounted adventures with a red-armoured woman, and dreams of a short-handled axe whose head blazed with the fires of Mars.

***

Next morning, Raye was sweeping the steps of the Hino Shrine before heading off to college when her grandfather materialised at her shoulder. "Oh! Grandpa, what is it?"

Ookido Hino looked at his granddaughter levelly for a moment. "Why didn't you feel you could tell me?" he asked. "Do you distrust this silly old man so much?"

Raye shook her head. She couldn't get a handle on this conversation. "I'm sorry, Grandpa? What do you mean?"

"Well played," Grandpa replied with a kind smile. "You do not admit to any secrets, nor do you reveal any fear of discovery. Your princess can justly be proud of you, Sailor Mars."

"_NANI_?" Raye dropped her broom and stared at her grandfather in disbelief. "Wh… what are you…?"

The old man laughed. "You forget who you are talking to, granddaughter. There are few secrets that the Sacred Fire hides from me. I saw your battle yesterday before it even took place. You know, I suspected that you had a cosmic destiny since the day I tried to see your future in the fire on the day of your birth. Today, however, the gods and our ancestors chose to tell me everything." Ookido smiled in his quirky way. "I suppose after all I've gone through, they thought that I deserved it." He drew in a deep breath again before continuing. "So, the question remains: Why didn't you tell me before?"

Raye looked down, her mind racing, and tried to figure out what to do. _Tell the truth_, she decided, _especially as he seems to know it already._ "How can you even ask that question, Grandpa?" she asked. "You must know the nature of the darkness that we face. Every person that knows is another person put to risk by the simple fact of our existence!" Raye sighed and continued. "It isn't a matter of trust, Grandpa, it is a matter of safety, yours and ours." Raye looked her guardian in the eyes. "Besides, I would not choose to force anyone to bear such a burden."

"You truly have a pure heart," Grandpa replied. "Everything you have done is based on a desire to help. Just remember this, however: By lying to me, you have denied me the chance to _accept_ this risk, should I choose to do so. You forget that I was a warrior of the Empire in the last Great War. I know the meaning of danger and how to live with it."

"I love you too much to ask you to do so," Raye replied honestly. "Grandpa, I was so afraid that I would loose you."

The old man's serene smile jacked up several degrees and became warm and loving. "Raye, you are my blood, the last of our line," he said. "I would never hate you for following the way of the warrior or for accepting your destiny." Ookido took a moment to think before continuing. "Please trust me from now on, granddaughter. At least let me pray for your victory when you fight."

Raye smiled happily and bowed in gratitude. "I promise that I will," she said at last. "Th… thank you for loving me, Grandpa. I love you too."

The old man smiled. "Get moving," he said. "You'll be late for classes. That slug of a fiancée of yours can finish clearing up."

Raye nodded and turned to leave. Ookido Hino watched her go and raised a hand in benediction and blessing. "May the gods watch over you, beloved child," he whispered as she walked under the arch and into the ever-so-dangerous world.

****

The end of Chapter 4

Next time: Chapter 5 – Lita Harrod – Sailor Jupiter 


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